Politics

[Elinor]

I was reading a book about the French Revolution a while back, and I found this quote. Of course, assuming we're headed in the direction of the 1870s French is rather extreme, but I thought this was surprisingly applicable:

Little needs to be said concerning the political weaknesses of the Old Regime. A government which could not raise adequate revenues clearly revealed its lack of political effectiveness. General confusion and inefficiency prevailed in the royal administration, which consisted of successive layers of offices, bureaus, and agencies that had piled up over many centuries, with jurisdictions that were now ill defined and sometimes contradictory.

I believe it's going to take a lot more than a new president (or giving this one another shot) to redeem this country. I can't help but think that the people are going to have to start thinking for themselves for a real, lasting change. I would be very interested to see what happened if the media was shut down. How would the people react/respond to the candidates then? How would the candidates act? But that's never going to happen, so forget it.:leaving: