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Spin Zone / Re: Are liberals right? No significant voting fraud?
« on: January 28, 2017, 09:39:02 AM »
Not only do I see nothing wrong with people not wanting to vote, I wish people weren't hounded or urged to vote for the sake of voting. It generates random noise at best, an emotion-driven choice at worst.
You can't eliminate the emotion driven choice although I agree it's not a good one. But there might be reasons it's appropriate. Stay with me here, understand I think Obama is the single worst president we have ever had. I talked to several blacks about why they voted him in and got answers that were 100% about the first black president. When I pushed for thoughts about issues and policy, they had nothing to say. The more conservative ones did not disagree that fiscal progressivism is bad, but that didn't matter, just the fact that a black is voted into the White House will "heal" the racial divide blah blah blah blah. Of course, these are purely racist motives because they voted on skin color alone. Nevermind the irony, hypocrisy, etc., this was an emotional vote, and if I step into their shoes and look at it from their perspective, I can understand where they're coming from.
The Trump win also was driven largely by emotion. People who have lost jobs, had their quality of life decline for the first time in U.S. history, and are losing their dreams for a future, voted for Trump out of desperation. They did something outrageous, like Spock jettisoning and igniting the shuttle craft fuel. The risk is if you're wrong, you crash back on the planet. But at this point what have you got to lose? You're going to die anyway.
In fact, the following pretty much nails my own state of mind when I pulled the lever for Trump:
KIRK: Mister Spock.
SPOCK: Captain.
KIRK: There's really something I don't understand about all of this. Maybe you can explain it to me. Logically, of course. When you jettisoned the fuel and ignited it, you knew there was virtually no chance of it being seen, yet you did it anyhow. That would seem to me to be an act of desperation.
SPOCK: Quite correct, Captain.
KIRK: Now we all know, and I'm sure the doctor will agree with me, that desperation is a highly emotional state of mind. How does your well-known logic explain that?
SPOCK: Quite simply, Captain. I examined the problem from all angles, and it was plainly hopeless. Logic informed me that under the circumstances, the only possible action would have to be one of desperation. Logical decision, logically arrived at.
KIRK: I see. You mean you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst.
SPOCK: Well, I wouldn't put it in exactly those terms, Captain, but those are essentially the facts.
KIRK: You're not going to admit that for the first time in your life, you committed a purely human emotional act?
SPOCK: No, sir.
KIRK: Mister Spock, you're a stubborn man.
SPOCK: Yes, sir.