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**shihoodiacarf** · 08-13-2008, 05:17 AM

We have elections.

Formal elections don't always mean that the will of the people, so to speak, is being properly represented. In fact, most Americans have no clue why the US spends around 700 billion on the military every single year and maintains bases in so many hot spots around the world, including places where there's very questionable need for them (like Germany). Recently, the US started installing missile defense sites in Eastern Europe infuriating Russia where the official version was that we were trying to protect Europe from Iran.

I assume that 99% of Americans would have no clue why we are spending billions building installations in Europe against Iran where the chances of Iran attacking Europe are infinitely small.

And some authoritarian regimes (prime example - China) are able to maintain very effective domestic policies that some other supposedly democratic governments have struggled to do.

Not to mention other ills of our own democracy - buying up votes (i.e., campaign contributions, lobbying, etc), corporate and farm welfare, pork barrel spending, deficit spending (500 bil spent just this of the money we don't have), the unnecessary or questionable wars, etc. Democracy does not seem to always work to the betterment of the human kind, unfortunately.

08-13-2008, 05:17 AM	#8
shihoodiacarf Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 479 Senior Member	We have elections. Formal elections don't always mean that the will of the people, so to speak, is being properly represented. In fact, most Americans have no clue why the US spends around 700 billion on the military every single year and maintains bases in so many hot spots around the world, including places where there's very questionable need for them (like Germany). Recently, the US started installing missile defense sites in Eastern Europe infuriating Russia where the official version was that we were trying to protect Europe from Iran. I assume that 99% of Americans would have no clue why we are spending billions building installations in Europe against Iran where the chances of Iran attacking Europe are infinitely small. And some authoritarian regimes (prime example - China) are able to maintain very effective domestic policies that some other supposedly democratic governments have struggled to do. Not to mention other ills of our own democracy - buying up votes (i.e., campaign contributions, lobbying, etc), corporate and farm welfare, pork barrel spending, deficit spending (500 bil spent just this of the money we don't have), the unnecessary or questionable wars, etc. Democracy does not seem to always work to the betterment of the human kind, unfortunately.
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