[quote]Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
Actually, until about 2002 or 2003 I was a “RA RA RA let’s kill 'em all” conservative. I thought Clinton was a traitor, thought that Hillary was evil, and that Gore was just a loud-mouth piece of shit. Actually, those beliefs haven’t changed in the slightest. However, I thought Reagan was the greatest President in recent memory, Bush I was good but should have marched to Baghdad, and I voted for Bush II in 2000.
ALL of my political beliefs were turned upside down in 2002 and 2003, though. I was in the Marine Corps at that time and saw the run-up to the war from the inside. Everyday I saw my SecDef and Commander-in-Chief lying their asses off on national television. I had access to some pretty cool shit, and it didn’t jive with what our leaders were saying on TV. I think that we should have gone into Afghanistan and wiped that slate clean, but Iraq was simply a mistake. We knew where our resources needed to go, but our leaders sent them elsewhere.
So, it’s only in the last few years that I’ve turned to alternative media sources from around the world in order to get a better picture of what’s going on in the world. I’ve read about the true nature of the Iran/Contra affair, about Bush I’s history as Director of the CIA, and on and on. Needless to say, my views on these men have changed somewhat. I watch cable news, but I also take in a lot of other sources. I believe that you should read and listen to everything, check it with what you have seen and heard in your own life, and make your own decisions about what’s “truth” and what’s “bullshit.” The problem is that it takes a lot of time and energy, and you need to be prepared to have your worldview completely turned upside down once in a while. It’s painful, but the truth usually is.[/quote]
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Keep reading. Read the papers. Read TIME magazine, and read some of the more credible websites that have some kind of slant (aka The Nation, DemocracyNow.com, The Weekly Standard, etc.)
If you feel strongly about politics, and about certain issues, I would say that its generally motivated by things you have seen in your own life. Your political beliefs tends to be a reflection of the way you look at life personally. It all ties in together in the end.
My personal experiences were coming up in a New Jersey working class home with a Democratic mother and a Republican father. In my family, politics and religion were always around, always being questioned, no matter who said what.
The jobs I have worked and the things I’ve seen also have influenced the way I look at things.
I would say that if you read the politics forums, read the papers, and are aware of what’s going on around you, you already are more informed than the rest of this country…being as most people don’t pay attention at all (sadly).[/quote]
stay away from bullshit propaganda sources like TIME, CNN, and pretty much any other household publication for that matter. maybe national geographic. you just have to use common sense. think why? why would “they” do this, or why would “they” say that. who will gain from this knowledge,(if you can call it that) being spread. think conspiracy theory.
not that i am wierded out or anything. it’s just that nothing is known unless somebody wills it to be, why would they want you to think a certain way? what will they gain? big buisness has a way of controling the flow of info, if they don’t like it they can provide the funds to make it go away. whatever the buisness may be. somebody will be gaining something i guarantee it.
I took an American Politics class last semester in high school and have been interested in politics since. After you understand how our system works, start reading newspapers. And for the love of God, don’t just read the papers with your same viewpoints. Get progressive, get conservative, and get moderate papers/magazines.
What do you like to do? Would you rather make life hard for everyone but yourself, or would you rather complain about everyone except yourself. Those are our front runners, step right up and sign right here. We’re recruitin fresh souls.
Politics is nothing but “labels” & “language manipulation”
This is what Politicians do.
From World War 1 to Iraq…
This is what politicians will do for your service. When you serve your country and nearly get your fuckin’ head blown off from the grenade that just blew your best friends guts all over your G.I. uniform. You can come back home after the war is over and get a nice label from the government that sent you there and describes your condition from your experience.
“Shell Shock!”
…nah, too visual
How bout “Battle Fatigue”
…nah, thats not it
umm, “Tramatic Stress Syndrome”
…nah, just sounds bad
Aha, "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
…nah, too many words
will this work, PTSD
…nah, its still too…ya know what?
Elect me Commander in chief, I’ll at least do one thing right. I’ll call something what it is. This is what I would call you when I saw you.
Mine goes something like this.
“I lost both my fuckin’legs & half my fuckin face is gone. All I get for my efforts is four fuckin’letters from those fuckin’ pricks that sent me here.”