Speaking of politics, on 2004 June 25, Stirling Newberry wrote,
Newberry argues that people in the United States face a systemic problem that cannot be solved by focusing on individuals.
He goes on to say,
Investigations into the qualities of individual politicians will do no good: not enough people will pay attention to the results of the investigations to overcome the `sneaks' that gain office.
A second point that Newberry makes is that we don't know what is going on. On the one hand, this results from not paying attention; in that case, we will never learn what is going on. On the other hand, the contemporary solution to not wanting `want to watch our politics' is to reward those who lie convincingly.
The long term consequences are untenable for a democratic political system. The process rewards those best at being false, and provides entertainment as those who fail at lying are caught and punished. At the same time, the process does nothing to promote a serious discussion of policies, programs, and principles.
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