dismantling

[dystopiamembrane]

.

[leftyjace]

Weird.
I would think they’d want to break Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado into a separate Blue “nation”.

[dystopiamembrane]

Yeah. I’d suppose that the lines would be up for discussion. But, a good start, I think.

[Hellhound152]

If Washoe County, Nevada, was placed in Pacifica there would be a civil war… haha

[ryynoo]

Does Alaska go to Russia or Canada?

[UteThunder]

China.

[Duhwayne]

Why on God’s earth would any American who claims to love this country want to break it up? If anyone doesn’t believe that Russians are absolutely stoking the wedge being driven between red and blue, perhaps we are fools and will get what we deserve. Right now stupidity is the greatest threat to America. And we can absolutely screw this up beyond repair.

[dystopiamembrane]

Are you implying that I love this country?

[Central Coast Ute]

What would be a better alternative?

[dystopiamembrane]

Use your imagination.

[Central Coast Ute]

I’m not calling for destruction. You are. You want to tear it down but don’t have an idea for a better alternative.

[dystopiamembrane]

It’s not difficult to imagine a better alternative.

[Central Coast Ute]

But apparently it’s difficult to voice what that is.

[dystopiamembrane]

What drives you to inquire about an alternative?

[Central Coast Ute]

Because you’re asking to destroy everything without offering so.ething better. Pretty simple.

[dystopiamembrane]

You might be thinking of someone else.

[Duhwayne]

Looks like that is our fundamental disagreement. Thanks for clarifying. If I were an admin I don’t think I’d let the board be used for sharing seditious material. Guess I’m posting for the others.

[Central Coast Ute]

But, but ,but, the Russians only are trying to get Trump elected because he’s a Russian spy!

[dystopiamembrane]

I didn’t mean to offend you.

[Duhwayne]

Not offended. I like having a job and wealth and a means of defending myself and my community from threats internally and externally. And what you are writing is threatening. It’s not just a difference of opinion. You are openly talking about dismantling the country and the need to start over. Extremists especially on the right fantasize about rebooting society after a total collapse. It’s bats**t material.

Anyone who has been to Yemen or Somalia or 90s Sarejevo or parts of Africa can tell you what a country with a collapsed government is like. It’s not a bunch of eggheads talking about freedom and equality. It’s extreme poverty and disease and gangs and stavation and recoilless rifles mounted on pickups and rape used to subdue communities and trafficking in drugs and arms and people.

American constitutional democracy is worth having. There are adjustments to be made to make it work how it promised to but Americans who openly advocate destruction of society as you did today are enemies of the people. 50 years ago I can’t imagine anyone openly saying what you said today. A weaker educational system and a 24 hour bulls**t bullhorn that is the internet has seriously damaged society at scale. I have lived in other countries and they aren’t like this. I’m considering doing it again until America finally decides to get its s**t together again. I have bills and I have kids. I also don’t trust people like you, for obvious reasons. Rioters and anarchists offer destruction and nothing else. They only stand against, not for. We collectively stand to lose everything. That’s worth fighting for. I will if it comes to it. But if that’s what it takes, this country took its position at the top of the world and voluntarily decided to give everything away. And for what?

[Central Coast Ute]

I couldn’t agree more. There are those far right nut cases in the mountains like the “Freemen” that fit the bill. But today we also have the far left in ANTIFA.

[Duhwayne]

As if which side of the extreme matters. Anyone advocating destruction of the society is an enemy of everyone else. Emphasis on division is the threat here and an inability for Republicans and Democrats to find common cause in ensuring the nation is strong as possible is exactly why we are here today. There isn’t a competition over how to solve problems, it’s mostly one side saying the other is the problem. We are weaker than I have seen the country at any point in my lifetime because the commitment of the people to each other and country’s founding principles is fraying in so many directions.

Wedge and identity politics are how this election threatens the country most. No one was going to match the 2000s US military. Why spend a trillion to defeat the US if you can do it for a few million in troll farmers? The KGB tried for decades to foment this kind of division. Social media was like a political manipulation tool from the heavens. As seen with Cambridge Analytica, and individual targeted ads, there are databases now for you and your particular views on whatever. There is literally the technical ability to feed content to a specific person and deep fakes can make anyone say and do anything. Who needs shows like Black Mirror? We got rid of the gatekeepers and individuals now feel like their opinions are equal to all others. Now our enemies can sew chaos all directions at scale. Platforms like Facebook and this site contribute to the problem when they choose to profit from page views without regard to their social responsibility to others. They are privately held, the first amendment does not apply to users acting under their terms of service and they can edit what they want and they are responsible for the content they enable. They are republishing the s**t for money. And people read it and it spreads. The 230 liability rollback proposed by Trump has support on both sides for that reason. Social media has a huge reckoning ahead. The industry deserves what’s coming to them. I used to lobby as part of a prior job and all the social media lobbyists I knew who were drawn to socially oriented media prior their IPOs have already moved to safer industries.

The first half of 2020 is just the start unless our leaders and those with publishing and republishing responsibility actually focus on unity. Anyone who can’t behave in the interest of the country at a time like this is unfit to lead. And that goes for both sides. This year I will vote for whichever candidate tries hardest to consolidate support on both sides of the aisle, full stop. Beirut was the gem of the middle east in the 60s and you know how it looked in the 80s. Forty years on that country is still controlled by political elements beholden to a foreign government. That happened by a combination of decadence and reckless politics–are there any better words to describe the United States today? I mean, the top poster this weekend was a user named dystopiamembrane. This is not uncharted territory we are covering. It’s a well worn path by virtually every dead society. The outcome wasn’t an accident. It was a series of irresponsible choices. It can happen to us. It already has. How far are people willing to let it continue?

[leftyjace]

You know what I’d rather see than a split into separate nations?
A parliamentary form of government.
But…
That has just as much chance as us splitting into separate nations, I guess.
Which means, none at all.

[Author]

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