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Ditto!!!Date: 9/15/2008 7:37:48 AM
Author: part gypsy
My allegiance is to my country above any political party. So, I would vote for the candidate that best serves the country. So no, I wouldn't consider myself a traitor (to my country).
i don''t need to vote cuz Ca had already been decided.Date: 9/15/2008 9:51:51 AM
Author: Skippy123
Ditto!!!Date: 9/15/2008 7:37:48 AM
Author: part gypsy
My allegiance is to my country above any political party. So, I would vote for the candidate that best serves the country. So no, I wouldn''t consider myself a traitor (to my country).
Is that how you are feeling Dancing Fire??
Politics in the US has become an increasingly "team" thing in the last 20 years or so. There is much rancor on both sides. It''s due to a lot of things. Part I think, comes from a culture that has an increasingly shorter attention span and doesn''t want to make the effort to understand the nuances of an issue. Hence the continual shortening of political ads to the level of incendiary sound bytes. Also, fewer people actually read anymore, so what news they get is from foul-mouthed incendiary talk show hosts - of both stripes. And add in a good whopping dose of intolerant religion (trust me, if you''ve not lived here, and Australia is as casual as you say, you have no idea how divisive a force religion can be, especially in smaller communities(example)) and the other side, alarmed at the increase in dogma driving policy, digs in their heels.Date: 9/22/2008 7:48:57 AM
Author: LaraOnline
It seems from casually observing US politics (admittedly from a very long distance) that many ''ordinary'' people enlist themselves with a particular party, even from a very young age...?
Is this an aspect of your enrolling to vote, do the major parties go on ''enrollment drives'' to enroll voters on their behalf?
Admittedly, Australian culture is morbidly casual, about pretty much everything. We have a strong culture of voting, because it is basically compulsory, and I happen to think that in practical terms, that is a pretty good thing.
If we enlist ourselves in ''team colours'', it is a private thing, and completely informal, so if voting time comes and you decide that last term''s favourites are now turkeys, you just vote differently in the privacy of your booth.
Politics is pretty private over here, it is not so common for friends to announce their partisanship (which could be short-lived).
I don''t even ask directly how my husband votes, for example.
Political discussions, similarly, are quite likely to be veiled in an at least the appearance of non-partisanship.