A Dilemma of Ego and Citizen Responsibility

[zoey101]

Hey guys, been gone for a little bit, but I have been continuing my journey to discover my "non-self" (if that's the correct way to put it lol) but I have run into a bit of an issue with something.

Now, I live in the USA and there has been A LOT going on here and it seems sometimes like there is no end to it all. I have talked to a few different people about voting and how important it is, because I truly believe that if everyone followed the system the way it was INTENDED, we COULD make a better country for ourselves and our children. But the more I spoke to them, the more discouraged I would get.

EVERY SINGLE PERSON I spoke to would respond with "don't put your trust in the government" or "the system is too far gone, there is no point". Even fellow Christians would say some bullshit like "leave it all in God's hands, He will take care of it".

I understand that these are all constructs of the Ego, and I DO trust that nothing is impossible for God to handle, but I also feel like we are a part of this system, so we have a responsibility to act by educating ourselves and making informed voting choices. I don't trust the government. It is very corrupt and full of some very selfish people. These people have spent the last few decades marketing the idea that "Our Vote doesn't make a difference" and that "We can't change the system", and we have ALLOWED them to win. 

I honestly have no clue what I want to ask about this, but I am just so frustrated and wondering what I should do. 56% of Americans DID NOT VOTE in the 2016 Elections (myself included) and now we are stuck with the mess we have now. How do you get 56% to care again? I can't help but worry for our country when no one is willing to step up and use the system to our COUNTRY'S advantage and stop these people from using it for THEIR advantage.

 

Any response would be greatly appreciated, because I am seriously at a loss here you guys.  

[Colin]

I love your nuanced thinking. The simplest and wisest thing I can say is to choose your sources of information wisely.

Some countries, I think Lithuania is one, have mandatory voting. I think it is electronic so anyone with a phone can easily vote.

Generally speaking in the U.S. The more people that show up the more likely Republicans are to lose. So they are very crafty about suppressing voting. It happens on the Democratic side too among different factions. That is the incentive to limit voting.

[Colin]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting

[Colin]

I also don't know all the answers this is a very complicated matter. I think the corrupt media is to blame for a lot of the political woes. If Bernie Sanders had been given as much coverage as Clinton and Trump he could have won and  you would have a politician in the white house more in line with Jesus's message of feed the poor, end wars, mend the sick.

But Ultimately this poem comes to mind.

"When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. 

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. 

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. 

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world."

[Prabhaker]

40 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

we have ALLOWED them to win

Thanks, we prayed for his win ! Donald Trump said that 'I love Hindu', promises closer links to India if elected.

[Colin]

"Referring back to the Australian experience, voluntary voting prior to 1924 accounted between 47% and 78% turnout of eligible voters. Following the introduction of compulsory federal voting in 1924, this figure jumped to between 91% and 96%.[11] with only 5% of eligible voters accounted as not enrolled.[12]"

[zoey101]

The whole thing is just crazy to me  I know I can't make someone change, but it is really hard to feel like I can make some sort of difference when everyone around me keeps saying there is no point...

42 minutes ago, Colin said:

I think the corrupt media is to blame for a lot of the political woes. If Bernie Sanders had been given as much coverage as Clinton and Trump he could have won and  you would have a politician in the white house more in line with Jesus's message of feed the poor, end wars, mend the sick.

I agree. The media is, both liberal and conservative, is doing nothing but making people feel like there is no out to this, but there is! If every person in America was properly informed and voted based on that alone, we would have much better people in charge. And I don't mean just Trump, he isn't solely responsible for this mess (that's giving the man way too much credit). Everything starts at the Local Level and works its way up to the President. 

There were PLENTY of great choices up there, it didn't have to be Hilary vs Trump. But there was no way they had a chance because of the media, like @Colin said. The government has wanted it this way for a long time. They use Social Media and the idea of getting your "5 minutes of fame" to completely distract us from the big stuff going on. 

But what can we do to open America's eyes and show them EVERY VOTE MATTERS? That's the part I am really frustrated with  

[zoey101]

1 hour ago, Colin said:

Some countries, I think Lithuania is one, have mandatory voting. I think it is electronic so anyone with a phone can easily vote.

I also don't get why we couldn't do something like this in the US where its stranger to NOT have a pone than to have one. We used to have Town Meetings where EVERYONE was required to go and hear what's going on in the community and discuss ways to improve it. Why can't we do this with our phones? We use them for everything else, so???

[RichardY]

Even one person can make a difference. Not necessarily a good difference, it can be a catastrophic difference.

Didn't Bernie Sanders actually win the popular vote in the Democratic convention, but the party commissioners overruled it. A bit like Hilary winning the "popular vote".

Interestingly both Trump and Hilary are related to one another through the John of Gaunt Line, relation of Richard III, Plantagenet kings. One big soap opera. In a way I think Hilary was President in effect when her husband Bill was banging whoever he could hold of imho.

 

[zoey101]

13 minutes ago, RichardY said:

In a way I think Hilary was President in effect when her husband Bill was banging whoever he could hold of imho.

lol yeah that was pretty much my reasoning for wanting her over Trump lol The woman had experience and one mistake was blown so out of proportion. I get that her actions cost a few lives, but EVERY polititions actions cost lives to a degree. Trump has bombed Syria twice, that we know of, and both times civilians died (according to reports) and no one is screaming he's a murderer. I don't think she was the best option for the seat, but she was a better option than the current one.

Edited July 13, 2018 by zoey101
spelling errors lol

[Colin]

@zoey101 I agree Hillary wasn't a great choice, but dear god would she have been better than Trump. 

[Colin]

There are a million reasons one can cite for why she lost, but the main one is that if she had campaigned a teeny weeny bit harder in the rust belt she would have easily won and none of this trump saga would have existed.

[zoey101]

@Colin I love that Prayer, but MAN is it the hardest one to follow!

[SFRL]

Politics and the news is all fairytales as far as I am concerned. 

Therefore I am not opposed to Trump or pro Trump. I felt the same about Obama. 

I don't follow the news either. Or TV. 

Only YouTube got me sucked in the last few years. I really should unplug from that as well. 

[zoey101]

3 minutes ago, SFRL said:

Politics and the news is all fairytales as far as I am concerned. 

Therefore I am not opposed to Trump or pro Trump. I felt the same about Obama. 

I don't follow the news either. Or TV. 

Only YouTube got me sucked in the last few years. I really should unplug from that as well. 

There is nothing wrong with being aware of what is going on. I know the news is depressing and can be very biased at times, but this is what I am talking about. You are just as responsible for all the bad that happens in this country as the people who voted it in if you don't cast your EDUCATED vote. 

There are people LITERALLY DYING to get into our great country so that they can experience the basic rights and privileges we chose to take for granted. It is your Civic DUTY to be informed of the state of you City, State and Country and to make INFORMED decisions for the betterment for your community and further.

[SFRL]

47 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

There is nothing wrong with being aware of what is going on. I know the news is depressing and can be very biased at times, but this is what I am talking about. You are just as responsible for all the bad that happens in this country as the people who voted it in if you don't cast your EDUCATED vote. 

There are people LITERALLY DYING to get into our great country so that they can experience the basic rights and privileges we chose to take for granted. It is your Civic DUTY to be informed of the state of you City, State and Country and to make INFORMED decisions for the betterment for your community and further.

I am all for knowing what's going on. 

The thing is I don't believe I will know what's going on by following politics and watching the news. I think it's all full of shit and mass manipulation. 

I mean maybe some snippets here and there are good to know like kids getting separated at the border, and yeah that's wrong. 

But I think the bigger picture remains well hidden behind a thick smoke screen. 

They tell you one thing, then you can give your own interpretation of what might really be going on, but then reality is probably still very different because you don't have all the facts. 

Edited July 13, 2018 by SFRL

[Scholar]

Remind yourself of the story Leo mentioned in one of his videos of the farmer and his son. There might be something bigger going on than you are aware of, and maybe what you deem as bad is actually quintessential for a process to take place that in the end will create a better world. This includes environmental destruction, war, death, suffering, ignorance and injustice. It even includes your own resistance to all these things.

How many people do you think became interested in politics because Trump was elected? Sometimes it takes suffering and misery for a person to change their ways, and the same applies to collectives. Nature is very good at making us evolve, it is quite fascinating. Every solution we find brings two more problems, every answer two more questions. This principle forces us to become better, it forces us to evolve. Everything that does not simply will not survive.

Maybe it takes the fall of the US for the world to become a better place? Maybe it takes a nuclear war? We don't know, and if you could have asked the dinosaurs, they surely would have been very certain that doom came upon the entire world when they were annihilated. Though look at the magnificent diversity of life that was spawned from their misery, including you and everything you know.

 

You can find peace in knowing that you cannot stop nature/god from being what it is, because you are part of it. You might criticize that this kind of perspective will lead to inaction, to everyone not caring. The paradox is that the opposite is true. You can surrender to reality or resist it, either action is part of nature. You really can't help doing it, because god isn't just handling everything, god is the source of both the problem and the solution. You cannot have one without the other.

Edited July 13, 2018 by Scholar

[Colin]

@Scholar I can see this perspective sometimes, but I think if misused it can lead to apathy, nihilism, and delusion. for example, I think it mattered a lot when the first doctor figured out that when he washed his hands more baby's survived. He was willing to go against medical orthodox and face ridicule to make the point. Imagine if he had the idea, "well there is a reason that babies die, and who am I to question the natural order of things."  Instead, he did the human thing, solved a problem and saved millions of lives. Actions have consequences, inaction has consequences. There is much we don't know. There is much to be improved. Don't misuse everything is perfect.

[zoey101]

1 hour ago, Colin said:

@Scholar I can see this perspective sometimes, but I think if misused it can lead to apathy, nihilism, and delusion. for example, I think it mattered a lot when the first doctor figured out that when he washed his hands more baby's survived. He was willing to go against medical orthodox and face ridicule to make the point. Imagine if he had the idea, "well there is a reason that babies die, and who am I to question the natural order of things."  Instead, he did the human thing, solved a problem and saved millions of lives. Actions have consequences, inaction has consequences. There is much we don't know. There is much to be improved. Don't misuse everything is perfect.

That's basically what I was about to say lol

While I do agree with @SFRL and @Scholar on some things they said, it just seems like America is just so jaded and ungrateful for what we have. We have so many freedoms and opportunities here, but we chose to be sucked into social media and kitten videos when we could be making real decisions for the future of our Country. 

I hate trying to talk about this because I worry I come off as insincere, or worse, naive lol but I have been feeling a strong urge lately to make a change, but I just don't know how. I don't really travel ever so I barely know what's up with my neighboring city, let alone the whole country. But this has made me feel like I am part of the problem with America and I want to know what I can do to make some sort of difference.

Edited July 13, 2018 by zoey101

[SFRL]

4 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

That's basically what I was about to say lol

While I do agree with @SFRL and @Scholar on some things they said, it just seems like America is just so jaded and ungrateful for what we have. We have so many freedoms and opportunities here, but we chose to be sucked into social media and kitten videos when we could be making real decisions for the future of our Country. 

I hate trying to talk about this because I worry I come off as insincere, or worse, naive lol but I have been feeling a strong urge lately to make a change, but I just don't know how. I don't really travel ever so I barely know what's up with my neighboring city, let alone the whole country. But this has made me feel like I am part of the problem with America and I want to know what I can do to make some sort of difference.

This forum does reach further then our Merica. Haha. I always have this idea that when the Aliens land on Earth and choose America as their landing spot, the Americans will say: "Hi we're Mericans". Instead of "Hi we are the human race". 

But yeah even on this forum (and this might be a fair bit of projection) we mostly all just watch the same YouTube channels. We are all in this YouTube Buble discussing the opinions of mostly the same 10 people or so, and we don't really discuss that much that goes on in the world or our own life's.