Venezuela
Is Venezuela lost for decades? Is it going to become a full blown pariah state? The opposition leader Guido seems like a
someone moral?
Seriously.
The west implies a group of western nations.... you're making a broad moral judgment of many people and nations as a collective. You can't compare that to an individual.
We need another group that's morally superior to western nations, which is.... ?
something moral?
Seems pretty lacking at the moment but it would be nice to at least aspire. Pretty sure it isn't about pointing at others.
something moral?
Seems pretty lacking at the moment but it would be nice to at least aspire. Pretty sure it isn't about pointing at others.
Maybe this is why these arguments are so confusing for the US/Western haters in here.
Of course... aspire to be better. Seek to hold those in power accountable. The problem is this thing called reality. Every group has some level of corruption and malfeasance. You're always judging based on the lesser of the evils because... man isn't perfect, and power corrupts.
It's very easy to point to all the problems w/ Western society... there are tons. So you can either:
1) Sit back and criticize w/o real solutions sets, and maintain moral superiority.
2) Reform the existing system by getting involved, and striving to make it better.
3) Create a whole new system.
Which one of the three is most productive and realistic in your opinion?
I'm in camp 2). 3) is going to happen anyway but we get to shape it.
2) - is politics in a democracy. Doesn't seem very popular around these parts but there's plenty going on. Unfortunately we are currently losing - we keep trying but it's tough.
Realistically? I'd bet on us losing. Then we have to go again.
Maybe this is why these arguments are so confusing for the US/Western haters in here.Of course... aspire to be better. Seek to hold those in power accountable. The problem is this thing called reality. Every group has some level of corruption and malfeasance. You're always judging based on the lesser of the evils because... man isn't perfect, and power corrupts.It's very easy t
how do you reform a broken system? how do you fix a system based on 100s of years of mass murder, theft, torture, rape? by voting for Democrats?
I'm in camp 2). 3) is going to happen anyway but we get to shape it.
2) - is politics in a democracy. Doesn't seem very popular around these parts but there's plenty going on. Unfortunately we are currently losing - we keep trying but it's tough.
Realistically? I'd bet on us losing. Then we have to go again.
Ok, fair enough.
And I'd agree to some extent. The cycle seems to be democracy, fascism, war, then democracy again, and round and round. I'm simplifying as it's more like democracies decay when people forget why their constraints exist, creating openings for authoritarianism, which war then violently corrects.
Any insights on why that might be?
It's an interesting topic.
People forget
Democracy is hard work morally and we would all like it to just happen because 'it should''
Perhaps the biggest one imo is that soemtimes, like now, there is fundamental systemic change and it's very hard to get ahead of that change rather than be overtaken by it.
It's an interesting topic.
People forget
Democracy is hard work morally and we would all like it to just happen because 'it should''
Perhaps the biggest one imo is that soemtimes, like now, there is fundamental systemic change and it's very hard to get ahead of that change rather than be overtaken by it.
Yes, agreed.
Politics is very much a reflection of the "soul" of people. There's very much two major states of mind that tend to bounce up against each other in our own personal evolution as a species. It's an interesting mix of this complex biological hard-wiring that I believe we're in the process of self transcending. Some faster than others.
The consequence of this transition though plays out in that political cycle. Politics reflects enduring psychological tensions in human beings between fear and openness, control and pluralism. Periods of stability expand tolerance and freedom, which eventually provoke backlash from those who experience that openness as threat. The resulting conflict reshapes institutions, sometimes violently, and the cycle repeats. We’re living through one of those inflection points now.
We get to have front row seats to the "not fun" part of history. It will be interesting to see how it plays out this time.
It's pretty impressive that the US can go in and snatch any leader of the world any time it wants. I'd be very nervous if I was the Canadian or Greenland PM.
I'm not a psychologist, so you may be correct. Seems to fit, but it's not my place to say for sure.
Why do you think it doesn't fit, and who is a better example?
Victor is rejecting all the options in the U.S. because none are sufficiently leftist, or at least that is what he thinks he is doing. In other words, Victor would not be rejecting all the options (or he thinks he wouldn't be rejecting all the options) if he lived in Cuba.
As for who I think better fits your description, I'll pass. I've mentioned names before. No need to pile on again.
wasnt there a user from Venezuela who used to post here quite frequently? like 5-6 years ago?
Are the Dems outraged? This seems to be a bipartisan effort. Even Mamdani was taking shots at Maduro. Someone up in an oak chair in Harvard said the latest Venezuelan election was stolen so that's good enough as a basis to invade the country.
Wait. So if Venezuela thought Gore won the 2000 election then they had the right to invade us? That doesn't seem right. Scenarios where this kidnapping of Madura is justified in any way confuse me.
if you want to read things within the context and interact with good faith then its for the best.
I am curious how you think adversaries of the US should act? should they just roll over?
I never said any country had an obligation to roll over for any reason. But the idea that the only alternative to rolling over was to invade Ukraine is of course nonsensical.
