What is the most important thing that needs to be changed in the United States? Other than the president that is.
Realistic short term fix? Campaign finance reforms would go a long way toward solving our massive corruption issues.
Idealistic long term fix? Direct democracy. You can't corrupt an official if the office doesn't exist.
Direct Democracy is the tyranny of the unwashed masses.
@WileEQuixote Anything other than direct democracy is tyrrany over the masses, unwashed or otherwise.
@DonThiebaut it didn’t work out well for Greece.
Led directly to Oligarchy.
It’d be worse here with our pop culture mindset.
@WileEQuixote It didn't work out well for [ancient civilization], so it can't possibly work out for a modern-day nation, with advanced, near instantaneous communication systems, that regards all of its people as citizens. Huh, it's almost like something have changed.
@DonThiebaut ever seen pop culture?
Survivor?
Kardashians?
Kneeling at football controversy?
Twitter storms?
Climate deniers?
Flat earthers?
Yeah that’s a great way to run a country.
@WileEQuixote you are appealing specifically to the lowest common denominator. And I used that term intentionally: we have all those people in a republic (really an oligarchy already), or did you forget that a reality TV star, climate denier, Twtter-stormer, Football-protest-mocker, is running our country? The thing is, as obnoxiously loud as that group of people is, they're in the minority. And while it would be hard to prove, I strongly suspect that there would be a lot fewer of them if powerful interests in the US weren't constantly promoting that kind of behavior. Powerful interests that are propped up by our corrupted Republic.
For-profit healthcare. That shit needs to go.
The ruling duopoly. It is the illusion of choice. The differences between the two parties are miniscule. Both parties are beholden to corporations, both parties are far more interested in power, lining their own pockets, and re-election than they are in principle, and neither party truly cares about citizens' liberty.
The ruling duopoly is a grave threat to the future of this nation.
Information dissimenation.
We need to stop letting bullshit present itself as news. This has created the most divided electorate of my lifetime. We can’t even agree on basic facts anymore.
That is the acid that is corroding the infrastructure. Unless that gets resolved, all the other problems we are facing, and they are plentiful, will result in squabbling and profiteering instead of actual problem solving.
There are so many, but I'd have to say my too 5 would be (in no particular order):
Updating the 2nd amendment.
Giving more money to arts in schools, and less to athletics.
A true separation of church & state.
A serious focus on environmental issues.
A serious focus on infrastructure.
The American dream. The version that the greedy power-hungry heartless element buy into anyway.