Well, polls in America have consistently showed substantial majorities of Americans, both liberals and conservatives, agreeing, for instance, that children should not be ripped away from their parents on the Mexican border and then kept away from their parents for time eternal. A fairly specific majority of Americans believe that Roe v Wade, the seminal Supreme Court ruling in the area of reproductive right for women, should be kept in place. The problem in America right now is that the polarization of society has become quite extreme, with people on both sides screaming more than listening, and what the “Tea Party” has been for the Republicans, the concept of “democratic Socialism” has been for the Democrats, in both cases the attempt being to drag the relevant party to the right or the left. This has led to a tribal partisan situation in which the party as such becomes more important than the issue at hand. I do believe that the situation has been exacerbated to pretty much the breaking point by the fact that an utterly corrupt businessman from New York has become “president” of the United States. It is hard to discuss this guy rationally, because if there is anything that he is not, it is rational. And, by extension, the political situation in America is not rational at this time. It didn’t used to be so. There was a time when both parties worked together on issues such as opposing the Soviet Union. I do believe that the breaking point came in 1992, when the Republicans realized that their best bet was to demonize President Clinton and all that he did. That led to the so-called “Tea Party,” the election of a Republican majority in the House in 1994 for the first time since Jesus was a teenager, etc. During the administration of George Bush the Younger and the Dumber, the shoe was on the other foot, and Republithugs were howling about how unfair everyone was being toward the president. When Bush was replaced by President Obama, the Republithugs really did declare that their only aim in life was to make sure that nothing that he proposed would ever get approved in Congress. That is where America is right now. Even though there are many issues on which Americans do tend to agree, the insistence on both ends of the spectrum that it’s either my way or the highway really does keep people from talking to one another. It is a sad thing, indeed.
Dear Mr. President,I am honored to have the privilege to write to you.Over the last four years, you certainly have changed things. Although I do not agree with many of these changes, I do know that many will miss you when you are gone from the White House, and possibly a small part of me will too.Let's start with the positives- you are one of the most charasmatic presidents we have ever had in the White House. Your charm will surely be missed. In addition, you are a great orator and communicator, and a gifted speechgiver. I can't imagine Trump or Hillary wowing the crowd and delivering one-liners like you. Although I did not support you in the 2012 Presidential Election, you roasted Mitt Romney several times during the debates. Maybe you have a career as a roastmaster after you exit the White House… who knows?Unfortunately, the policies and way of thinking you brought to the table over the last eight years were not something I could agree with you on. The Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) was a disaster. The site worked terribly, and some promised parts were not executed. In addition, the withdrawal of troops from the Middle East led to the rise of terrorist groups like ISIS, and the defunding of the military has made us weak. Countries like Russia no longer see us as a challenge, as we don't act on our threats under our leadership. Americans don't feel safe anymore. We can't have that. There are, of course, many other things I disagree with you on, but those are some big ones.In summation, I did not particularly favor you as a president. But you are still my president, and I still respect you. The position you have to fill is incredibly difficult, and I understand your stance on certain issues may be different than mine. Regardless of politics, thank you for leading the free world through a decade of political, economic, and social turmoil.Sincerely,Jason Strautch
Has the word 'terrorist' lost it's meaning?
I hope you will never have to endure being bayonneted, raped, shot, beheaded, bombed, or sent to a death camp, but then you would understand what terrorism is. No, OUR "people" aren't using fear to further political agendas. Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and the Iraqi insurgents are doing that. OUR people are fighting and dying to preserve your life and your freedom, and that of other innocent people of all nationalities.
How does culture influance our communicative behaviour?
Hi. I grew up in a poverty-level environment (or "culture", if you will), where all the fathers were either away at war (Vietnam), or they came back all messed up, emotionally. So it was women raising us, sort of. Our mothers and aunties had to work sometimes 2 jobs to keep us fed and clothed, etc., so we kids were usuallyon our own. We communicated disagreement and anger by arguing. Verbal abuse was rampant - and we thought was "normal". Whoever yelled the loudest and the longest and meanest, got heard. Our mothers were no better, coming home tired, to a house full of hollering kids - so they'd start with yelling and name calling. I grew up some, and had boyfriends and would argue them into the ground, with lots of yelling and name calling. It was all I knew! But in the world outside my neighborhood (outside of my "culture", therefore), I quickly learned that I may seem to win all the arguments, but I wasn't really being heard, or understood, or listened to, or respected. Not to mention, people looked at me like I was a crazy woman - if the argument took place in public. I was living on my own, a young adult and realized my way of communicating wasn't very effective. I started paying attention to how people argue on TV. I never saw the type of behavior I had learned as a child, on TV. And I chose to surround myself with good-natured, intelligent people, who didn't feel the need to scream at me to get their point across. My life quickly changed for the better - because I changed my childhood "cultural" communication skills into better adult communication skills, by changing my cultural surroundings. Clare Huxtable, the mother on "The Cosby Show", is still my role model and inspiration for gentle, yet effective communication - especially when I'm angry.
Is free healthcare (Canada/UK) really THAT bad?
Well, I disagree completely, America we are used to quality health care services, we expect more and rightfully so. I have been to Canada skiing when a my sons friend, who we brought with us, broke his leg on the slopes. We were directed to get him to the "emergency hospital," when we arrived the Dr. was not there! He was skiing..... My oldest struck up a conversation with a woman about 57 years old, she had been waiting since 8 am, it was 2pm, for the doctor to come and give her chemo for cancer. She said she had to pay for the chemo herself because in Canada after the age of 50 if they deemed your illness is terminal and costly they deny you services like chemo, radiation, etc. You either pay out of pocket or you die. Americans are used to and believe in the practice of extending one's life as long as possible. Canada says one year, five years, one month who cares. The doctor finally arrived a good 2 hours later, he was skiing at the same resort we were. He told us the emergency crew that brought down the child located him and told him he shroud return to the emergency room. He said he decided to take a few more runs, I noticed his truck when he arrived and mention it had a lot of advertising covering the vehicle. He informed me that he wasn't paid enough as a doctor so he had 2-3 other ventures to make money. He informed us he would take some x-rays for us to take back to America; however his qualifications were equal to a PA (physician assistant) and that he was not comfortable setting his leg. He gave me a prescription for pain pills ($180), copy of x-ray ($680). he said we should head back over the boarder first thing in the morning (unless we could head home that night) have an American doctor look at it immediately and keep his leg elevated. This is the future of American medicine, long lines, incompetent medical staff, and more costly for less. Yippee. I have other stories about the European socialist healthcare, not any better than Canada. But hey too late now stuck with "affordable care act," that is not affordable, long lines and months before you can see a surgeon (if the panel allows the visit and possible surgery), and then another 18 months you could get the necessary surgery..........maybe?
Why do Democrats call themselves "progressive" or "liberal"?
I think, mostly, that it's about self-righteousness. The global warming issue, the Iraq war issue, the health care issue - there's a lack of opposition on all of these areas, so they are automatically thinking, that only their side of the story is right. Only their opinions can be tolerated, and everyone disagreeing is either fascist or just plain stupid, and should immediately join the "good side". It's the same with green loonies - trying to impose their moral on me although I don't agree. They have no comprehension whatsoever that there might be dissent - and if there is, hang the ************, he only want the earth destroyed anyway. They think they are moral superior than "us" greedy, stupid rednecks, and thus we should not be granted freedom of speech - hence why many liberals want Fox News banned from the airwaves. Only their opinion count. Oh, btw. this is also how communist Russia, China, Cuba and Nazi Germany "work(ed)" - see how successful those societies became? This, of course, is a gross generalization, as I've met lots of liberals not thinking this way. I've just never seen a libertarian or conservative resort to violence whenever someone does not agree with them, whereas I've seen that happen many times with liberals (or, that is, the communist/socialist part of the party. Moderate liberals seem to be more bright. Although they are not too broadly represented on the internet).