Most people I talk to, regardless of political and religious beliefs agree that money and greed are the greatest obstacles to societal growth. I think overturning Citizens United and overhauling political funding and lobby restrictions should be a top priority.
What do you think?
Money and greed equal power and those in power with the most money have always affected societal change or caused it to remain the status quo. It is unlikely that dynamic will change since its the money that wields the power of change. Unless, those with the money are convinced that change is in their best interests and will increase their money and their power.
I absolutely agree with you. Citizens United is horrible and the lobbying is just as bad. As long as someone can throw huge amounts of money at politicians they are going to vote to keep getting the money and not vote for what's right. They won't listen to arguments on a subject from anyone but their sponsors. And with Citizen's United it has made it so that they need the money to campaign or else they are probably going to lose. People throw a few examples of people that won without that kind of monetary backing but they are in the small minority.
Citizens United is a threat to democracy. Although I don't have an opinion on economic systems such as capitalism or communism, living in an oligarchy would lead to many abuses of basic human rights in the name of manufacturing for big business and industrialization. (See also Joseph Stalin) Also, gerrymandering and the electoral college are threats to democracy in the US. Freedom of religion is necessary to democracy.
I'm sure I should be more informed but sadly I'm not. I'm not sure what Citizens United does or doesn't do.
Citizens United basically says corporations and unions are "people" and therefore have freedom of speech, and freedom to contribute unlimited money to political campaigns. Meaning they can buy elections.
Oh ok yeah I've heard about that I just didn't know it was called Citizens United. Thanks for the education, I really appreciate it.
Feel free to look it up paul1967, it is the SC decision that corporations have human rights of free speech and money is speech!
I definitely will
Pardon, but the majority or unanimous belief is religion as the biggest stumbling block to social growth. Greed yes, but greed for what? Society needs money to grow. Society without politics might never grow.
I'm a person with a voracious and insatiable appetite for learning, greeeeedy for knowledge!
Your point is not clear to me.
Could you please dumb this down for me!
Society needs humanity in order to really strengthen!
I don't understand the need for money and politics to grow!?!
MikeThorne: People cannot think clearly with an empty stomach, they need food, and they need money to buy food. Growing their own food is beyond them because they can’t think clearly.
Humanity will not become a society if people cannot think clearly, so, no social growth.
The smallest unit of a society is the family, which also happen to be the smallest political unit. It is an organized group of people. The father as the head of the family ably assisted by the loving mother, then the eldest of the children down to youngest. It has to be organized in order for it to grow. Btw, nowadays, in some households, the mother is the head of the family even if there is a father.
Please don’t confine your definition of politics to those guys who got elected and are corrupt in government. And, btw, there is also corruption within a family unit.
Politics will always be an element in any organized group. Society cannot grow or prosper without some sort of political structure. In any group, organized or not, a leader will surely rise – be it elected, chosen, appointed or by simply being the strongest and the toughest guy. If there is a leader he surely will have followers, the leader of the pack, and politics will surely be involved. I don’t know of any organized group that wouldn’t want to grow.
Leaders have the brightest minds, or so they think. They tend to assume to know what is right or what is not. Most of the best leaders are good at speech and can speak lies and be accepted as truth because their followers are so blinded they cannot think clearly and just follow like sheep.
The biggest and most successful organization are those of the religious.
All groups, from an entire country, a race, a culture, a church, down to simple household has some kind of a belief, philosophy or ideology in whatever kind and form.
Even animals and insects are organized, may even be better organized than humans.
and, aaah, oh, just an after thought. From the fictional character Qui Gon Jinn: "The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."