I think america is in the find out part of their great experiment. The current political system has created an almost “sportsball” like interaction where you pick a team and root for them and little else, the parties (both of them) have no reason to want to change this (as you point out). Now you have a massive steaming hot mess of an administration, with no real political opposition and media coverage doing commentary like on the sidelines of a sporting event. There is no meaningful legal way the american people can interact with their government anymore and the media keeps talking about each party “slamming” and “blasting” each other like its a wresting match, and like a wresting match it is all fake without any real world impact (the “slamming” not the awful policy by the government).
The thing is commentators do affect sports all games. Mostly because they are describing it to an audience and the players on the sports field are fully aware that there is an audience and that the commentator is influencing what they perceive is happening.
Players can’t be cheats or assholes for very long, or without the commentators looking the other way and not get backlash from at least half the audience.
Yeah, it’s particularly bad at the presidential level as most votes just don’t matter. People talk about “if you stayed home this is your fault” but it (for the presidential vote specifically) really is pointless for like 70% of the population who lives somewhere that’s solidly one way or the other. I voted in the last election but all my representatives were decided in the primary and my vote for Harris was useless because whether she wins my state by 10% or 30% doesn’t matter.
It was a fine first draft, but technology has changed and we’ve figured out better systems of government in the last 250 years.
I think america is in the find out part of their great experiment. The current political system has created an almost “sportsball” like interaction where you pick a team and root for them and little else, the parties (both of them) have no reason to want to change this (as you point out). Now you have a massive steaming hot mess of an administration, with no real political opposition and media coverage doing commentary like on the sidelines of a sporting event. There is no meaningful legal way the american people can interact with their government anymore and the media keeps talking about each party “slamming” and “blasting” each other like its a wresting match, and like a wresting match it is all fake without any real world impact (the “slamming” not the awful policy by the government).
The thing is commentators do affect sports all games. Mostly because they are describing it to an audience and the players on the sports field are fully aware that there is an audience and that the commentator is influencing what they perceive is happening.
Players can’t be cheats or assholes for very long, or without the commentators looking the other way and not get backlash from at least half the audience.
Yeah, it’s particularly bad at the presidential level as most votes just don’t matter. People talk about “if you stayed home this is your fault” but it (for the presidential vote specifically) really is pointless for like 70% of the population who lives somewhere that’s solidly one way or the other. I voted in the last election but all my representatives were decided in the primary and my vote for Harris was useless because whether she wins my state by 10% or 30% doesn’t matter.
It was a fine first draft, but technology has changed and we’ve figured out better systems of government in the last 250 years.