Philadelphia Eagles Right Off. Tackle is Congressman

[Marching Thru Georgia]

But the problem that I have with those that consider themselves "intellectuals" is that they are elitist.

I always find this anti-intellectual attitude both amazing and saddening. To use terms such as intelligence or intellectual as a pejorative is certainly a reflection of the value our country places on education. Striving for mediocrity has clearly been a goal of this society for the last 30 years or so, whether we are discussing education, healthcare or our public officials. Speaking for myself, I want smart people in charge. I don't want a bunch of dummies like myself making important decisions. While the rest of the world is educating its population just as quick as it can, we are busy promoting the notion that, smart is stupid. Being telegenic or athletic or being anything but intelligent is a laudable goal. The only evolutionary advantage humans have been given is our ability to think abstractly. Throwing that away and celebrating the average is the quickest road to irrelavancy that I can think of.

[bedbug]

.... I don't think I presumed to place myself in among the intellectuals.... and certainly not among good spellers :laugh:

I was sorta implying that if you hire someone to do a job like President, etc. you want a well rounded, broad minded, mature person with a good head on his/her shoulders.

[RDBoles]

My two cents, intelligence is the wise use of knowledge. You can be very smart but not be intelligent. Even stupid people can have moments. Power can corrupt. Money can corrupt. Power and money deffinitly corrupt. To me spelling correctly is nice but not a requirement. Our elected officials are our representatives, they represent you and your district. Remember the book "Animal Farm"? The elitists are the piggies. I some times think that most of our elected officials become piggies. Like Norb, we must wait a little to see if these elected officials do the right thing or not. Alot of them are corrupt and smart, they can hide along time but eventually they get ferreted out. Your brain is like any other muscle in your body, the more you use it the better it gets. Or at least that is the hope. I would say the first 500 people in any towns phone directory in America, can run this country as well as those we send to Washington. Just my thoughts on America and these elections.

[norb]

What I see here is the same thing I see many places. It's the attack on someone just because they don't fit the norm. Just because I celebrate someone that I admire being placed in office, just because he is not viewed as a typical intellectual, does not mean that I am anti-intellectual. What I am doing is following the famous definition of insanity, with a few changes. Insanity is voting for the same type of candidates year after year and expecting something to change or get fixed. That is the main reason, I believe, that people are following an anti-incumbent, anti-norm candidate feeling in the country. We have realized that you cannot possibly get change from your typical candidate, or incumbent that's been in office for 24+ years. You need something different if you don't like the way things are. What ever form that difference takes is up to you, but nothing can change if we keep following the same rules.

Chris Smith is a Republican and was the Congressman for my district, he won. He's been in office for 24 years. I voted for a no name candidate that had no chance of winning. I am of the belief that the two party system must be broken for things to really change. But I do believe that we have the makings of what could be a good two years. We have neither party with absolute power, they must work together. I think that's the best it can get under the current system.

[Michael Slaunwhite]

Hello.

I see it never changing until you change the barrel. Putting new apples in with the old eventually makes the new apples rotten.

Change the barrel.

later!

[Marching Thru Georgia]

You are quite right, Mike. Until we get rid of corporate democracy in this country and equating money to free speech, things will never change.

[Michael Slaunwhite]

You are quite right, Mike. Until we get rid of corporate democracy in this country and equating money to free speech, things will never change.

Hello MTG.

You are 100 percent correct.

Later!

[NY Cavalry]

Most people just want to maintain a simple life. People just want to live their lives, engage in their trade, and provide a comfortable life for their family.
Who are the real heroes? It's the little people who get up everyday and make this country work.
Let us remember that it was the intellectuals and self appointed leaders who have really messed things up. If they are so smart, why are we here? Why is it not getting any better?
I respect persons of character with devotion to the greater good for all. We should look for such leaders. If this former football player is good or not only time will tell. What is certain, is that we need to get this country back on a right path.

[bedbug]

I don't think anyone is saying you need to be an intellectual to be a leader.
.... and why are people threatened by that word? When someone assumes they are all snobs it makes me suspect they are listening to people who like to make up their own "facts".... people who want to devide us by creating a "them" and "us". Some congressman may have big heads, but lots of them share houses, sleep on roll-away beds and work long hours and aren't rich. I know no one wants to hear that, but thats just the way it is. If you have a home and then get a job in another town that may only last two years you don't sell your house.

In bad economic times people are frightened and make stupid decisions (eg: Germany in '36) and listen to oportunists who make up their own reality.

Business exists to make money by producing goods and services, but the bottom line is to make money. The bigger, more powerful, the business, the more ruthless it becomes. It has no interest in nationality or people. It tells you what you want to hear to sell what it has. For the last twenty years (and particularly the last administration) most protection from them has been lifted. They have done what they wanted and we have reaped the rewards. Of course our own greed hasn't helped the economy either, but that's a seperate issue.
To "let the Free Market be free" is insane. Our taste of corperatocracy almost brought down the world economy.

Don't let me confuse this with small business. It's responsible for most of our growth and should be bolstered, but Wall Street should be broken up for the most part imo.

The working man has always been the backbone of America..... and he is now paying for tax breaks for the rich while he is sliding backward. Reaganomics was disproved years ago when he left us with a 168 billion defficit (when a billion was a billion :laugh: ) by throwing money around but not sustaining it with any revenue.

Cut taxes? Sure. What do you want to get rid of? Social Security? Medicare?

The dirty little fact is that ALL modern industrial societies are part Capitalist and part Socialist.
It's just a ballancing act.

"Take our country back" ? Where the hell did it go? You vote don't you? This is America, you don't need a gun to change government.... thats what makes us ..... us.

[RDBoles]

That is what makes this country different from the rest of the world. Our founding fathers new that a single power could be bad , the large always over power the small , the have's and the have's nots will be at odds with each other. So dont't give absolute power to any one group, divide it up and have checks and balances. The one saving grace is capitolism the great equalizer of the middle class. We have no kings or princeses or royalty. Anyone in America can be rich if you want to, any one in America can be middle class ,and any one can be poor if you want to. The small business man is the back bone of this country and you can be as big as your dreams. You are not stopped because you were born into poverty. or because your parents were wealthy either. I vote to keep the government at odds with each other so they will not accomplish much of anything except to stay out of the way. In the 60's and 70's the conservation corps was a good thing to help keep America concerned about the enviroment. But not today. The so called Green Movement is about power and taking it away from you and me. Just another attempt to try and bring down the Freedoms that are ours. More later.