Quote from: SredniVashtar on October 29, 2022, 05:39:31 AMWhat is wrong with it? You have a system where you elect your representatives to represent you. You don't have a system where you make decisions by referenda on every issue. Do you want a system where the ones that shout the loudest are automatically listened to? What's a 'good portion' anyway? You all distrust elections these days, why should we trust opinion polls either? Are the other side pretending that they would force Ukraine to make peace? No, so your argument is phoney. If you don't like an administration then you vote them out the first chance you get. If you want a different system then, if enough people agree with you, you can do that too. What you seem to want is a version of mob rule, so long as the mob are on your side, which can never be guaranteed.
To be blunt, Russian propaganda is so deep now that a lot of people don't even realise they are being played. The whole moon landing hoax was a Russian psy-op designed to discredit the Americans. They are very good at playing on the fears of paranoid, rather uneducated people. You and MD are prime examples of the way people get suckered. You don't have to be a cheerleader for the West to understand that allowing someone like Putin to run around unchecked is bad for everyone. All you are doing is putting your head in the sand. It's an acknowledged psyschological condition called 'normalcy bias' where people can't allow themselves to accept that a situation is serious so they pretend that it's all completely normal.
What exactly do you do when someone assumes that you are a pussy and won't stand up for yourself under any circumstances? Why bother even having a military if you aren't even prepared to use it as a bluff any more? Are there any circumstances when you'd stand up to Putin? Does he have to annex the whole of Eastern Europe before you'd even begin to acknowledge that there is a problem? Seriously, I'd love to know if you 'peace at any price' types have any red line at all.
Generally, I don't attribute the trait of stupidity to you. So I have to assume that you are purposely trying to twist things and just failing rather than honestly not grasping what is written. I didn't call for a referendum. I called on at least one member of the government to say what probably 30% of the population is thinking. (Fine- say 20%... Or even only 10% who would like the war to end. No matter the number, somebody should represent those voices.)
I didn't call on the representatives to negotiate a peace deal themselves. I said that asking for a change in policy is reasonable.
Are you willing to follow your own advice if Trump is elected again? You will just say that he is elected and everybody should kowtow to his whims until the next election? Elected representatives should not protest or disagree with his policies, because he is the "boss?"
A final, honest question for you. Are you willing to send your children or nephews or grandchildren to fight in this war? Is it actually worth a personal sacrifice to you- or just worth the sacrifices of others?