Art & Politics?

[brianvds]

However, be advised that there are a lot of us in this country who take this election with deadly seriousness and are ready to take a stand and counterattack against any percieved threat or deception against the principles our nation was founded upon.

Perhaps quaint to non Americans, and something laugh and scoff and look down your noses at,
but ignore at your own risk.

BTW, the prohibition against a third term is a part of our Constitution, not just a mere 'law'.

From where I'm standing, it seems to me that America's institutions are still functioning, and talk of fascist dictatorships and a new civil war and imminent collapse and so on is premature and greatly exaggerated. Extreme polarization in American politics is nothing new, and neither is a bad president. (The main point of democracy is not so much to choose a good leader as to have a system for getting rid of a bad one in an orderly manner).

I am well aware that if America really did collapse overnight or turned into a dictatorship or something like that, that the ramifications would be worldwide, and it would directly affect me too. But for the moment I am not too worried.

 

[Trier]

Thanks Brian for the thoughtful reply.

I think your phrase of "From where I'm standing" pretty well identifies the problem that will prevent us from having a continuing intelligent discussion.

However, you did put your finger on a major factor to the minority of us (at least on this website, maybe I am the only one) who see an undemocratic refusal by a powerful segment of our society to accept the results of an election, and their use and abuse of the powers of government to illegally subvert the functioning of the elected leader.

That is merely an attempt to clarify something and not initiate an argument as to its' validity.

BTW, I like the pictures on your blog but I couldn't get them to be as large as I would like.

Regards,
Trier

 

[Ayin Es]

Thanks Brian for the thoughtful reply.

I think your phrase of "From where I'm standing" pretty well identifies the problem that will prevent us from having a continuing intelligent discussion.

However, you did put your finger on a major factor to the minority of us (at least on this website, maybe I am the only one) who see an undemocratic refusal by a powerful segment of our society to accept the results of an election, and their use and abuse of the powers of government to illegally subvert the functioning of the elected leader.

That is merely an attempt to clarify something and not initiate an argument as to its' validity.

What's coming out of this discussion is pretty much what I meant when I stated I didn't want to create such a forum that had a Debates section. This is not linked to the original subject: "Art & Politics," but politics in and of itself. I'll have to close the thread if it continues.

 

[Trier]

What's coming out of this discussion is pretty much what I meant when I stated I didn't want to create such a forum that had a Debates section. This is not linked to the original subject: "Art & Politics," but politics in and of itself. I'll have to close the thread if it continues.

I totally agree, and I wanted to tell Brian that I wauld not talk about politics any more here, only art, but I thought that might be a little too harsh at this juncture, and so I would wait and see if he makes another similar post

If you close the thread, that would sort of let me off the hook, but I am perfectly willing and able to end it by myself without getting you in the middle.

Thanks

 

[brianvds]

BTW, I like the pictures on your blog but I couldn't get them to be as large as I would like.

Not sure what you mean? If you click on them you see a larger version, and if you open them in a new page or tab, you see the original size. But many of them are actually quite small to begin with; I try to make the reproductions be about actual size (how big they appear depends partly on screen resolution).

As for all the politics, I'll cheerfully let that go. Not my circus, not my monkeys, as the saying goes.