So, you're saying what's wrong with America is that Americans are selfish? I haven't heard that before...

I mean, New Hampshire has an ego? Durst is so vague.

"We're just spoiled little kids who never learned to share our toys."

Yeah, uh-huh... Somehow I don't believe it's that simple. You barely scratch the surface.

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'me is not the problem, its not understanding that me = us that makes us so

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Please take a look at Australia and New Zealand – they are both under British system. They have many things in common:

• If you want to complain about the product/service of a private company, contact the company by email, phone or mail. Someone in the company will reply to you shortly, often by mail. On the bottom of the letter, you are not just given this person’s name and contact numbers, but an upper authority’s name and contact number, plus the name of the government departments if you are still not happy. Private companies are usually eager to solve the problems to consumers’ satisfaction, or they will soon out of business.

• If you want to complain a government officer, you can always find the personal that is in charge of complaint on their website. This person is always from a separate department. They always take it seriously and always write you letters. In the letter, you are also given the name of his/her superior to ensure your case is being properly overlooked. If you thank them for their fairness, they will smile and tell you: “Don’t thank me. It’s my job. I’m hired to do this.” They thank you for pointing out their flaws.

• Government monitors businesses closely. Misleading advertising is a serious charge. Dishonest companies and their owners are soon blacklisted. Their wrong-doings are published on official websites for public to view for free. Dishonest companies close doors fast. People in these countries say what they mean, mean exactly what they say.

• Government sees seniors and investors vulnerable and pay extra attention to ensure they are not misled and ripped off. Once found, economic losses will be recovered and the crooks will be prosecuted. You can rarely find crooks in these countries.

• The public believes in fairness. They believe that bad people should be punished and innocent people should be protected. They believe only that way they can live a good life. Although their world is not perfect, everyone is willing to go extra miles to “make it a better world”. As a result, there are many government watchdogs established by people like you and me, simply for the purpose of having the law enforced. You often hear them saying “money is not the most important. It is your lifestyle”.

• The government looks after its people. You don’t see seniors being forced to sell their houses simply because their retirement income cannot cover the sky-rocked land tax.

• You only see ordinary leaders or ordinary people in these countries. It does not matter who the leader is. Employees are well trained. They do not have to excel. They just need to follow the guides. It is the system that makes everything in order. British system is thoroughly considered, well managed and constantly improved. You can also find British system shines in Britain, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.

• They only accept immigrants with “good character”. So in these countries people are really nice and “pure”. Those who do not comply with law are not welcomed. Where do these bad people go? Well, they go to somewhere else that gives them total freedom…

That's not rocket science! America can do that!

America is the only country that discuss its problems on line. There are many great people in this country. Just make sure you people look after yourselves, and hang up with the right guys.

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U.S. politics, especially U.S. presidential politics, has been about "me me me" and a very few, very small circles of "us" for quite a while now. People in those very small circles tend to conflate U.S. presidential politics with life in general, but most of us [sic] only make that mistake for a couple of months every four years, and then only if we overdose on TV and newspapers. All those states are just jockeying for prime position as they break from the gate. So what? That's what competitors do. It says something about competition (an interesting topic, to be sure), but it doesn't say much of anything about me-me-me in American life.

Although, on second thought, maybe it does. People tend to obsess about petty details in order to avoid looking at the big picture. In that case Will Durst and the fangs-bared primary states are all in the same boat. Do I see the name Titanic on the stern?

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Australia and New Zealand have a critical advantage that America lacks. They have not had to endure thirty-five years of incessant reactionary right-wing propaganda trying to convince them that government doesn't (can't) work; that government is always the problem and never the solution.

In a democracy, the government is (or should be) nothing more or less than the People's machinery for the exercise of their Sovereignty. It is the institution by which all of us "Me's" become "We The People."

In America, those who would wrap themselves in the flag and speak glowingly about freedom and liberty, while quietly tearing down the very institutions that provide for freedom and liberty, are working overtime to undermine our government and our faith in government.

After all, without the mechanism of democratic government, controlled by the People (as opposed to the corporations and the hyper-rich) all we are is powerless individuals at the beck and call of the corporate and class elite.

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I propose strict public funding of campaigns on a per capita basis would be a good start, with individual and corporate contributions capped at $1000. I would think the corporate cap would go quite far in reorienting the country back to the democratic ideals we hold dear. After all, if corporations are insistent that corporations are legally "persons" then perhaps we should treat them as such.

The per capita funding would be on a state by state basis so that there would be strong incentive by all parties to redraw gerrymandered districts more equitably and politicians in heavily populated states would have more to spend than lightly populated ones. Last I checked, the price of a 60 second TV spot in Wyoming was a stick of gum and two marbles (granted, they wanted aggies).

Of course we will have to figure out how to handle cash going to the 501's like the swift boaters and the move-ons etc. because that could easily become another avenue to abuse the process. If we go down this route we may have go back to the Fairness Doctrine so that any one of them couldn't dominate the media other than ranting as much as they want on the internet. I know that everyone says that the internet is THE powerful new medium, but it's also the easiest to ignore. We all know that everything we see on the internet is true.

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How about allowing protesters and petitioners to protest and petition where the public gathers, as opposed to lonely sidewalks where not so many people go (except Arizona drivers, when turning or passing).

Here in AZ, at least, here is how it goes: You can't protest or petition on private property because, well, because someone else got it first. Not because they are intelligent and proficient in the wise use of land, but because they had the money and/or got there first. The owner gets to decide what gets said or done on their property. We can thank the Constitution -- that great testament of all things democratic and fair -- for ensuring that landowners are insulated from such unfair things as groups of people who disagree with how they are using that land. If a landowner wants to pollute the little stream running through their property, who the hell are we to tell a private property owner what they can do with their own fucking land? Look, it says right here in the Constitution, OK?

This may seem like a minor point, but as anyone here in AZ can tell you, it presents issues when you try to protest, picket, or petition. For instance, you do not have the right to petition or protest in a shopping center, mall, or near a McDonalds or Wal-Mart. (If the center owner permits it, then you can, but that is rare here in Red State.) These are the places that have replaced downtowns, where we use to gather to catch the eyes, ears, and minds of the public. Those are gone, undergoing urban renewal for upscale types who don't want the din of dissidents nearby, or completely shuttered because of the bigbox that opened just a car ride away. This makes it nearly impossible to protest a company where they are located because, again, they are on their own, private, land.

Likewise, it turns out that you can't protest, petition, or picket on public land either. Pay attention now: Public land is private because the government owns it. Yep. Go back and read that again. You have to petition the government for the right to use the land for an action, and they will only approve it subject to their rules and limitations, and only at a time and in a matter they approve of, and only with 30 days notice, by which time whatever issue you wanted to draw attention to is long gone.

Why does "public" land belong to the government and not the people? Don't I pay taxes to pay for the land and buildings that house government? Who are those guys anyway? Isn't this taxation without representation?

But sidewalks -- yes, sidewalks, those 4 or 5 foot wide swatches of human space -- are still considered somewhat "neutral," a "free-speech zone" of sorts. That is, if you don't mind breathing the CO of passing vehicles (one of the reasons you might be out there protesting) and the fact that no one is going to stop long enough to get out and learn more. And having to watch out for people ruthlessly chucking their spent cigarettes at you, empty beer cans and other trash.

I've been to protests where sidewalks actually worked to our advantage, such as when we were located near a busy intersection. But there is a much larger public than motorists who see us as kind of a curiosity in an apolitical America.

The California Supreme Court has ruled that private property owners must allow protesters and petitioners access, subject to reasonable time and manner restrictions (and I agree this is fair to all). It is time that democracy be restored in AZ, and the rest of the country.

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All this jockeying by the states looks silly, but there is a real complaint here searching for an answer. Lots of people (me included) are sick of their party's nominee being determined months before the get a vote. Here in NC our primary is in May. By that time some nominees have named their running mates and half their cabinet. I hope my votes made Bill Bradley and Howard Dean feel better, cause that's all the good they could possibly do. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of retail politics in a few early states to winnow the field, I just wish everyone else would give the survivors a couple of months to do some wholesale, nationwide, campaigning. That lets those of us that have not met every candidate at the local diner make an informed decision. What we're doing now is going to give the one the most raw name recognition a huge advantage. And I think we all know who that is. And, by the way, I don't know anybody who wants Hillary to be president. I kow lots of people who want her to be the nominee, but they're all Republicans. How can she be leading the polls? All I can figure is that Gallup is calling Barbara Striesand's house 1500 times.

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Ah, that 'res cogitans'! Being entrepreneurial and busy-ness-like, why not change that "I think, therefore I am" to "I can buy, therefore I am". The Solipsist is the new Hero. Margaret Thatcher spoke for thousands of years of human development way back in the 1980's: There's no such thing as society, only individuals. ( I paraphrase and yet the germ is there).

Now, back to my Virtual Reality; nobody and nothing is out there (ask Bishop Berkeley). I got messages to text, gaming to do, toys to buy and an id to let loose... . This is America, by gosh by golly!

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We lost it all when the great Teflon President, the silver-tongued, second rate actor, Ronnie Reagan came aboard. Unlike JFK who got us to look around more at our world, the late, unlamented Ronnie got us to look inside and consider only ourselves. If he wasn't such a hero to so many egos maybe we could come about. But he is also on a direct line with the current Administration which looks at nothing but its own mirrors.

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We certainly see this in our treatment of America's poor, whether we consider the abandonment of, for example, the victims of Katrina, or those who were abandoned when public dollars for social aid programs were transfered into covering the costs of a quarter-century long string of "tax breaks" for corporations/the richest 1%. Our national motto today is: "What's in it for me?"

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Keep 'em coming brother.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

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Some articles online reminds me of the differences between Socialism and Capitalism.

Socialism system looks after everyone in the community, especially the weaker and the poorer. Capitalism system is all about big money seized by the strongest, smartest, the boldest and often, the trickiest.

(Please do not confuse Socialism with Communism. Communism generally associates with confiscation of everybody’s asset, hand over to the leaders of the Communists, squandered by the leaders (and leaders’ families), and killing of the rich (and their descendents) to prevent revenge at a later date.)

What’s wrong with America is that in this country, capitalism has gone too far. Remember the aim of capitalism is profit maximizing. Profit – material benefit is the priority in this system. One shouldn’t be surprised that in such country the weakest and poorest being left behind first, later the average people, then the less wealthier… More and more Americans will be complaining about their lives. One day, we’ll all find that the good old America has gone.

Why? Because this is a system values wealth, power and winning the game (playing tricks) over fairness, mutual consideration and morality. What was that America dream? America dream is about making money quick, on a piece of land that other countries would not allow you. This piece of land gives you all the freedom to achieve your goal. If you are smart enough, you’ll get rich before 65.

Because the goal of the government is making profit, not looking after people’s life, you are on your own. You look after yourself. You will soon find that responsibility, reliability, hardworking and trust does not lead you to giant success. Instead, you end up being taken advantaged of, cheated and laughed at. You will soon find that being a smartest yet ruthless person, you would not being punished, but make a good life out of it. When more and more people learn this lesson, more and more Americans become unfriendly, inconsiderate and self-centered. This is exactly what had happened.

It is a country you make your fortune. It is not a country you enjoy life – life for average citizen is tough in this country! America is a battle field. If you want a peaceful, relaxing lifestyle with friendly, truly loving and caring people, you should go to a socialist country, such as Norway, Sweden, Canada, Australia…

All the smart and successful Americans know that! They are practicing that for years!

There are only four options for the average Americans:

• Join the ruthless. Be the smartest. Just harden your heart.
• If you cannot harden your heart, leave this country.
• If you can either leave the country, nor hearten your heart, join the majority Americans - Sit down, complain and hate. Be unfriendly, inconsiderate and self-centered to each other. And do nothing else.
• Join or form a government watchdog association in your area, ensure the law is enforced. If the politicians ignore you, keep seeing them and talking to them. If you are ‘annoying’ enough, they will do something, they’ll give up. 2 years later, you will find this works. 5 years later, you’ll find your living condition improved. 10 years later, you and your children will thank you for making all the efforts.

We also need to teach our children to be considerate. We also need to understand that complete selfishness will hit us back, giving care to the community results in receiving care. We should learn to be a good person, not just a successful one. We should learn it is a shame to hurt other people, and not to be shameless in order t succeed.

Our lives are in our hands.

We all deserve our government, don’t we?

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