Comment by deepsun
8 months ago
For years I've been taught that US political system is based on checks and balances. Now I see that just like in any other country it was based on morals of people: voters, elected, and appointed.
8 months ago
For years I've been taught that US political system is based on checks and balances. Now I see that just like in any other country it was based on morals of people: voters, elected, and appointed.
Like running both your "redundant" fiber through the same conduit, there isn't a second backup public to demand better.
People demanded this and they got it eventually.
The power of controlling information marketplaces.
Also I suppose it’s crucial to point out that it’s not just controlling the marketplace for news, it also needed one party to be absolutely focused only on winning elections, and eschewing bipartisanship.
Yes and no: nowadays third-parties can steer the people demands themselves. It became much easier with internet and "web brigades" (recently started utilizing AI as well).
So on one side yes, people demanded it. But on the other side, they were manipulated to think one issue is more important than the other, to think that "the whole system is broken" etc.
Every political system is based on how much people believes on it. Laws are not magic incantations, and there is nothing forcing people to follow what they say.
Yes, and a big problem is that the belief itself can be manipulated easier by adversaries using internet.
You forgot the last check, a disgruntled person with a gun.
Gun is a good thing, but way more important is organization. I mean organization like "when order came everyone stands up and fights no slackers".
Even 10 organized people with no weapons are _way_ more dangerous than one armed person. That's why all autocratic regimes firstly jail/kill organizers (right now it's Turkey). Just having eyes in 10 different places is more important.
As Jefferson really liked (proposed by Franklin): "Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God."
I think you estimate what a single person with a gun can do.
* assassinate the president of Japan
* assassinate health care CEO
* nearly assassinate the soon to be president