r/MarchAgainstTrump • u/[deleted] • May 04 '17

Bernie Sanders Is Building An Army To Stop Trumpcare Dead In Its Tracks In The Senate. UPVOTE IF YOU WANT BERNIE TO KNOW WE SUPPORT HIM AND WANT TO SEE THIS STOPPED. #1 r/all

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u/King_of_the_Nerdth May 04 '17

It does seem to be getting a lot of attention today. I'm very encouraged by the passion for politics that we're having, it's been the missing ingredient for my entire lifetime and it gives me hope.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

One positive outcome of the Trump presidency I've. noticed is that everyone seems to be much more interested in politics. Shame it had to literally be Trump to make people pay attention, myself included. Though, now I watch the news everyday and read up as much as I can to be informed.

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u/BrotherChe May 05 '17

Same thing happened with the Patriot Act and other legislation after 9/11 and the run-up to the Iraq War. Huge surge in political awareness on all sides. Anti-war demonstrations, protests against loss of liberty, etc.

I think there's even more awareness this time around -- more tools, more communication, more activist experience, more organization, more money, etc.

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u/Excal2 May 05 '17

The opposition is more powerful now as well, because we the people didn't get it right. Don't forget that, because if we lose this round then the next fight is going to get that much harder all over again.

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u/preoncollidor May 05 '17

3 million more people got it right than wrong actually. That the electoral college made Trump president is a criminal failure of its original purpose, which was specifically to prevent dangerous populist fascist uprisings because people are stupid and easily tricked en masse by demagogues like Trump.

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u/Excal2 May 05 '17

I'm not talking about 2016, I'm talking about the post-9/11 mania.

We the people failed to approach a problem rationally and come to a reasonable and constitutionally viable resolution. Trump is bringing out another mini-era of political awareness, we need to make sure that we don't fuck up and let more Patriot Act level bullshit get fed through our legislature and shoveled down our throats.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

Awareness doesn't mean shit if people don't vote.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

Voting doesn't mean shit if people don't engage in civic action.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

You say that but... I see a lot of protests and obviously the majority are not aligned with the GOP and yet the people that support them voted. Thats why they control most state governments and the federal government. They got into office with 10-20% of the electorates vote.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

I mean, it's a point of view.

Civic action isn't just about politics, though; it's about policies and changes.

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u/HorseMeatSandwich May 05 '17

I was a Political Science major, and over the course of my 4 years in college I became so burnt out on politics I kind of just tuned them out and kept myself just informed enough to vote in election years.

With the political rise of Trump and his election, I've started following politics religiously again. It's a shame it took something this awful for me to become reinvested. Now I'm considering passing up my MBA and going back to school for a Masters in Public Policy to work towards some political good.

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u/Mathemartemis May 05 '17

Please do. I'd like to do the same but have no political experience

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

Currently working on my Masters in Public Policy, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. And I am glad to see people pursuing this degree over an MBA.

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u/HorseMeatSandwich May 05 '17

What are you considering/planning on doing once you get your masters? How has your experience been so far?

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

Still trying to figure all that out. I would like to work in the federal government in various organizations. A bunch of my classmates are working in consulting or state/local government as well as private-sector companies.. There's a wide variety of things you can get into.

Before I go any further in my answer, what are your interests specifically?

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u/peachyhez May 29 '17

I have a question for you: I want to get involved in local politics in my town, but I don't have any experience or schooling in politics. I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

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u/[deleted] May 30 '17

Hey, I don't have any direct experience in politics either but it depends on your interest. I know there are some good schools such as University of Georgia who specialize in local/municipal politics for exactly. Definitely look at an MPA. Master in Public Administration. PM me if you have anymore specific questions.

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u/CuloIsLove May 05 '17

I don't think professional politicians are the answer to our problems. We need engineers, doctors, scientists and businessmen. We need people who have the power to effect change with or without public office.

I'm really depressed by the idea of a generation of politicians who learned politics through books and lectures and not through living in the real world.

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u/HorseMeatSandwich May 05 '17

Very fair point, but Trump (although he's an idiot and an anomaly), plus many others in his administration, are people who got into office through "real world experience" outside of politics, and they're almost universally unqualified for the offices they hold. There's a fine line.

Right now there's a huge backlash against career politicians, but the political system and the experience it takes to be truly effective in office at the moment are so complex that you're almost required to have a long background in law or politics.

I feel the biggest issue right now is the state of education in America, and if I choose to take the political route I'd devote my career to improving education so my kids and grandkids might be able to live in a more inquisitive, informed, and motivated society. It would take a generation or two, but I firmly believe fighting to push as much funding towards education as possible is our only possible salvation at this point.

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u/CuloIsLove May 05 '17

It gives me this weird incestual, masturbatory vibe to think that the bureaucracy has finally evolved to the point where people never need to leave the bureaucracy.

It's almost like the caste system in india or mandarins in asia.

I put a lot of value in Plato's idea of "reluctant leaders" and seeing people grow up wanting to be politicians is terrifying. Altruism doesn't put food on the table, greed does.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

Public Policy is baller.

Do it B)

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u/TheRadChad May 05 '17

Please read more than watching the news.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

[deleted]

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u/TheRadChad May 05 '17

if you browse right and left subs, def helps.

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u/peachyhez May 29 '17

What are some good right subs to browse?

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u/[deleted] May 29 '17

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u/omid_ May 05 '17

It's called accelerationism. When government goes horribly wrong, people pay attention. When a liberal like Obama is in power, people tend to overlook problems that occur under his rule. For example, he deported more immigrants that George Bush, yet we didn't hear much of a peep from the typical pro-immigrant organizations.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

The government has been going horribly wrong for about half the country for a long time. Most people here are experiencing the other end of the stick right about now.

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u/he-said-youd-call May 05 '17

Trust me, I definitely did. Between that and the extrajudicial drone killings, there were plenty of protests from farther left. Of course these against Trump absolutely dwarf them.

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u/DuplexFields May 05 '17

On the flip side, us redcaps (that's what you call us Deplorables here? Simple, yet classy!) were accelerated into voting Trump because we believed President Obama was pushing "horribly wrong" to previously unseen extremes that we believed Secretary Clinton would irrevocably worsen.

Thanks for your perspective! Our motivating fears are more similar than we usually realize.

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u/he-said-youd-call May 05 '17

Hey, olive branch, I want to hear your perspective on this: do you feel like Trump's policies (or alternatively the policies you support) have historical backing, that they feel like an obvious direction for America to go considering past trends and times?

One reason I identify so strongly with liberal policies is because I feel like they're a logical next step for America. Between the New Deal/Great Society periods and their rhetoric and policy, even just considering that the American Dream means a better future for our children than we have, I could point to a hundred successes our country has had and where they point us to go, how they've made my life almost inconceivably better than my ancestors' and how they can benefit our country in the future even more...

As I've actually gotten to spread my wings and get out into the world, right on the verge of settling down with the love of my life, more of my skin has gotten into the game, and I know I can personally benefit tremendously from liberal policies even vis a vis traditional conservative politics, let alone Trumpian bastardizations of them, but even so, my views aren't decided by that. They're decided by love of my fellow Americans, what can push our country forward as a whole, the same way I felt even before my (admittedly limited) real world experience. They're influenced by the words and views of past American heroes I feel we should all strive to emulate.

It's taken a long time to crystallize this all into words, and thinking about it has made me wonder what counterpart there is on the other side. Where does your political basis come from?

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u/LightningHedgehog May 05 '17

Do you still support him?

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u/CuloIsLove May 05 '17

Yea, look at all the kooks in literally every country you could possibly want to be born in who have universal healthcare.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

Agreed. I'm 19 now and otherwise wouldn't have cared as much as I should have about the election because I hated politics and am pretty moderate compared to most. But paying attention to Trump isn't optional. I now have a genuine desire to know about the issues instead of feeling like I have to.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '17

Same, 21. First time I feel honestly invested and like it involves me.

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u/trumpsreducedscalp May 05 '17

too bad the election didn't reflect that. low turnout for both parties.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

That is why I said Bernie or Bust, if it was Hillary doing the same shit everyone would be all silent about that. Republicans would just be bringing up stupid shit and all this would go thru silently.

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u/2001blader May 05 '17

It's because I trusted Obama to do good shit. I can't trust Trump.

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u/piranhas_really May 05 '17

I don't think there's any TV news worth watching - that time is better spent reading.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '17

Where was the interest all week leading up to the vote?

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u/King_of_the_Nerdth May 05 '17

Republicans in the house saw it coming...they pushed through a bill that was public for less than 24hrs and had no CBO review to beat the blowback and bypass accountability (now they can each say it was too fast to study it, if it backfires.)