I find it fascinating that Americans who have lived in the US all their lives fail to understand the true nature of American government and how it really works.
Let me try to explain in the simplest terms what government is and what it is meant to be.
When you have a large group of people, it is only natural and inevitable that someone will rise to the top and gain the confidence of the people. Inevitably, he will be some sort of warlord, or if he is even a little bit smart, an autocratic tyrant.
You MUST understand that this is inevitable. There is no escaping it. There will ALWAYS be an individual who becomes the dictator.
Once the dictator rises to power, he assembles a group of people around him to manage his domain. These people become the nobility and as time goes on, more and more power flows to them. Eventually, the dictator is no more than a figurehead. The nobility control everything. This is also inevitable. It ALWAYS happens.
Once the nobility rule for a while, power begins to be distributed amongst the people THEY trust, who are competent individuals we call the Aristocracy. These are people who are genuinely good at what they do, and the nobility promote them in society and rely on their advice. This is also inevitable. It ALWAYS happens.
Finally, the people begin to distrust their government as they see it benefits only some people and not others. They demand a seat at the table, and eventually, the Aristocracy is expanded until basically everyone is a member, and now we have Democracy. This is also inevitable, it ALWAYS happens.
Once democracy starts, it is the beginning of the end. The people vote themselves money and power and next thing you know the government has collapsed, leaving a vacuum in power, where an individual can rapidly rise to power and gain control and become the new dictator. RINSE AND REPEAT, AD NAUSEUM.
The American System is designed to TAKE ADVANTAGE of this reality. The governments are arrange to keep these powers set against each other. You ALWAYS have an individual who becomes the focus of all attention -- the dictator. You ALWAYS have a group of people who inherited their power because of their ancestors -- the nobility. You ALWAYS have capable people who know how to run government -- the aristocracy. And you ALWAYS have incompetents who want to have power simply because they are alive -- the democracy. They are always vying for power, each ready to take over when the group previous to them fails to do their job.
The American System draws people in, shows them that true power is only achieved if they can somehow get the dictator, the nobility, the aristocracy, and the democracy in line. If they can't, then they can't do anything. One or the other stands in their way. We're seeing this today as Trump is blocked by nobility. Not even the young and capable are able to completely nullify the nobility's power, so they are laying down the groundwork to make their own people the nobility.
You are not meant to participate in the American system. Your vote never mattered. (But vote anyways.) Unless you have a lot of power or a lot of talent or for some reason can raise an army with a few words, you are nothing and don't matter.
What you saw as the BBB was passed is how all of these forces came clashing together. Trump cannot pass the BBB on his own. In fact, he doesn't even want half of what is in the BBB. It doesn't matter. He had to get the people, the nobility, and the aristocracy on board to get the few items he really wants. They each played against each other in a cacophonous symphony or discord. In the end, one mega-faction won.
And that's how US politics works. Build your coalition BEFORE the election. Put all the power together you can, and then with slim margins, push your bills through, get your judges appointed, and get your guy in the Oval Office.
This is a titanic task that only a few groups of people have been able to achieve without losing their purpose along the way. Most of the time, powerful individuals or groups come to DC only to find they have to give up ALL of their issues just so that they can get SOME of the power. That's what happens.
Anyways -- the message is that you really don't matter to these people and you never will, not unless you have somehow created a billion dollar business, you are insanely talented at some skill the government needs, or you have 20,000 people who would pick up arms and shoot people if you asked them to.
So get to work on one or more of those goals if you want to matter.
Complaining does not work, and it never did.
Let me try to explain in the simplest terms what government is and what it is meant to be.
When you have a large group of people, it is only natural and inevitable that someone will rise to the top and gain the confidence of the people. Inevitably, he will be some sort of warlord, or if he is even a little bit smart, an autocratic tyrant.
You MUST understand that this is inevitable. There is no escaping it. There will ALWAYS be an individual who becomes the dictator.
Once the dictator rises to power, he assembles a group of people around him to manage his domain. These people become the nobility and as time goes on, more and more power flows to them. Eventually, the dictator is no more than a figurehead. The nobility control everything. This is also inevitable. It ALWAYS happens.
Once the nobility rule for a while, power begins to be distributed amongst the people THEY trust, who are competent individuals we call the Aristocracy. These are people who are genuinely good at what they do, and the nobility promote them in society and rely on their advice. This is also inevitable. It ALWAYS happens.
Finally, the people begin to distrust their government as they see it benefits only some people and not others. They demand a seat at the table, and eventually, the Aristocracy is expanded until basically everyone is a member, and now we have Democracy. This is also inevitable, it ALWAYS happens.
Once democracy starts, it is the beginning of the end. The people vote themselves money and power and next thing you know the government has collapsed, leaving a vacuum in power, where an individual can rapidly rise to power and gain control and become the new dictator. RINSE AND REPEAT, AD NAUSEUM.
The American System is designed to TAKE ADVANTAGE of this reality. The governments are arrange to keep these powers set against each other. You ALWAYS have an individual who becomes the focus of all attention -- the dictator. You ALWAYS have a group of people who inherited their power because of their ancestors -- the nobility. You ALWAYS have capable people who know how to run government -- the aristocracy. And you ALWAYS have incompetents who want to have power simply because they are alive -- the democracy. They are always vying for power, each ready to take over when the group previous to them fails to do their job.
The American System draws people in, shows them that true power is only achieved if they can somehow get the dictator, the nobility, the aristocracy, and the democracy in line. If they can't, then they can't do anything. One or the other stands in their way. We're seeing this today as Trump is blocked by nobility. Not even the young and capable are able to completely nullify the nobility's power, so they are laying down the groundwork to make their own people the nobility.
You are not meant to participate in the American system. Your vote never mattered. (But vote anyways.) Unless you have a lot of power or a lot of talent or for some reason can raise an army with a few words, you are nothing and don't matter.
What you saw as the BBB was passed is how all of these forces came clashing together. Trump cannot pass the BBB on his own. In fact, he doesn't even want half of what is in the BBB. It doesn't matter. He had to get the people, the nobility, and the aristocracy on board to get the few items he really wants. They each played against each other in a cacophonous symphony or discord. In the end, one mega-faction won.
And that's how US politics works. Build your coalition BEFORE the election. Put all the power together you can, and then with slim margins, push your bills through, get your judges appointed, and get your guy in the Oval Office.
This is a titanic task that only a few groups of people have been able to achieve without losing their purpose along the way. Most of the time, powerful individuals or groups come to DC only to find they have to give up ALL of their issues just so that they can get SOME of the power. That's what happens.
Anyways -- the message is that you really don't matter to these people and you never will, not unless you have somehow created a billion dollar business, you are insanely talented at some skill the government needs, or you have 20,000 people who would pick up arms and shoot people if you asked them to.
So get to work on one or more of those goals if you want to matter.
Complaining does not work, and it never did.