do you think our leaders have over stepped their authority and can the government really be changed by voting?
408442
Your statements are somewhat broken, but I think I understand what you're talking about. First, understand that your 'leaders' do have TONS of things to do. Just because you think something is an issue does not mean that they're going to get straight to it. They have other things to deal with. Furthermore, I'm sure they would resolve or attempt to resolve the issue if the community made a big deal out of it. Trust me.
475854
I don't think that they (we) expect the politician to change things.  What I think is, we have become accustomed to a system that was created by our forefathers and we keep it up by rote, just because we’ve always done it.  \n\nThe thing most people don’t recognize, the president is just a figure head.  He’s really nothing.  The president can do very little without the help of the Congress.  Those are the ones who really matter, far more than a president.  And as for the people from our states, we need to pay attention to what they are doing.  Are they supporting causes we believe in?  They vote on issues and pass laws all the time and we can see how they voted on things.  How many people actually take the time to check up on their representatives?  With the Internet, it’s easy to do.  \n\nIf people aren’t doing what we want, then we need to NOT vote for them next time.  Just like on my job.  I was hired to do certain things.  If I get hired and don’t do those things, I’d be out of a job.  Politicians should be treated the same way. \n\nJust to name a few, Patrick Lahey, Edward Kennedy, Joseph Biden, Maxine Waters, Barbra Mikulski, Orrin Hatch, George Allen have been in office for a long long time and they keep getting re elected.  There are many others too.  Are they getting re elected because they are doing such a good job and are doing what the people want?  Or are they getting re elected because the people are too lazy to really get involved too look deep into the system to really get a feel for what’s going on up on Capitol Hill?  \n\nIt’s like your heading.  The American people are just plain stupid.  Until they wake up, then the world is going to keep getting worse and really, it’s not as much the politicians to blame.  It’s us, WE the people.
497319
I'd say that voters need to update their knowledge about the political system. It's not like 200 years back when you just voted for one or the other party, if you are aware that things changed then you should inform yourself of what to vote for.
784573
Well, first, I HAVE to tell you that I love your way of thinking.  You are a smart man.\n\nI don't think that being elected is the answer.  Voters can be swayed too easily either way.  All it takes is an uninformed mindless person to take advantage of the fact that they aren't involved at all in politics and it's a done deal.  \n\nI think that the way that it is now is not all bad.  It leans one way and then it leans the other, but it is never so far one way or the other that it is ready to topple.  \n\nI don't know if there is a perfect answer.  What do you think?
270579
Not necessarily!  Our form of government, although our reps are democratically elected, except for the President, is actually a republic.  We elect our representatives to vote for, what we hope is in our interests, but that doesn't always happen.  Our alternative is to vote them out at the next election, have a recall, or impeach.  An example of true democracy is the town meeting form of government.  What the people decide becomes the law.  As for the President, we don't elect him/her.  We elect what is called the electoral college.  They in turn meet collectively and actually vote for the president; again, a republic form of government.  We elect them to vote for us.  There's a lot more to it than this brief explanation, but I think it will give you an idea.  However, we, unlike any other nation on the planet, have the closest thing to a democracy that there is.
897613
the only day you have any power over your government is on voting day. then after that you have no power. they can promise you the whole world the day before election but there is nothing there to say they will have to keep there promises after you vote.and they can keep on lying for the next 4 or 5 years and you cant do anything about it . oh what a great democracy we live in . we are just numbers to them. they need spin doctors to make there lies sound convincing. and we pay for them to.
66263
So "Regime Change" follows the Founding Fathers???\n\nGet a life.  They call regime change elections.. . feel free to take part.
808914
Disagree.  It doesn't have an effect on everyone, who we put in office effects us.  It's their decisions that effect everyone else.  \n\nWe may be the most powerful nation in the world, but as you see with the Bush admin. alot of people are not happy with the decisions made by our all mighty government. \n\nThe people need to have more say, but it's the people in our nation who need to raise their voices.
380821
The last answer was closest to the truth. The question isn't should we, because we already do vote on it. When we elect our government officials, they in turn make vote in Congress and the senate. So we do vote but rather indirectly. Certainly we would all like to have a louder voice but that is the very drawback of democracy we only get one vote, the majority rules. No...we don't always THINK the majority is right but we have to live with it. It is best to accept it rather than contiually fighting against it.
260997
Let's focus on our country USA It's high time we take pride in our own as a number one priority! It calls for some radical changes that many do not understand be cause they believe and trust in a system that is corrupt and run-a-muck! voting is not honest,representative government not serving its constituents,money controlling the majority,a well entrenched ruling class plutocracy,needs to be eliminated etc! Our constitutional right is to form a militia assault Washington D.C. fire all the beltway insiders hold honest elections that are verifiable,give the public a true check and balance in participation.modify capitalism to be inclusive for all of its legal citizen's etc.
912912
The government is over the administration.  We have our national, state and city government.  We vote those to govern and in turn those we vote in, oversee the administrative part.
148162
I do not have the "unflinching beleif" in any authority in power today.  The standards have slipped so, in all professions I have been involved with.  Dentist fill teeth that don't need filling, lawyers screw up cases, enron execs steal billions of dollars, etc.  You really have to be on your toes these days NOT to be taken by some scheme.  Whether it is the roofer using the wrong grouting for a tile roof, which later flies apart in wind, to the designers who made hurricane proof windows that leak during Katrina---the list goes on and on.\n\nI have seen enough of this stuff to have 0 faith in "leaders."  They care about themselves and perhaps putting money towards their children's college funds, at any cost to you and me, the average citizen hard at work for the government to pay our taxes. (I mean to say no matter who you work for on paper, every single person in this country really works for the government for a certain number of hours in the day.) \n\nI believe our right to "vote" is merely a show.  Whoever appears in the position does whatever the highest bidders tell them to do.  You could have donald duck in office, and the policies would be set by the unseen power structure in this country. I know it is cynical, and sad, but true.  \n\nI am no sheep, however.  I still try to maintain my personal high standard of ethics, and I fail to take advantage of other people or rip people off.  I am one of those guys who counts his change, and if there is extra, I give it back.
52267
Should be..but even if we had adopted a new government...if people in the position will stay the way they used to, probably we'll remain the same...We are yearning for better. What president and all the government officials are promising to us, never happened in reality. I don't want to expect too much from this country. Everything should be in a new form by now but seeing it with my own eyes, as much as possible I want to be realistic--and this is the reality.
1032977
no the people the citizens elect are. people change so its not the citizens fault for not knowing if someone elected would go coorrupt or not be able to handel the job
19883
There is a problem here that goes a little deeper than you might expect.\n\nIn my humble opinion, people in our society have gotten very used to having someone else (i.e. "the government") do things for them.\n\nThey have moved away from (or forgotten) the concept of collaborating with their neighbors, friends, co-workers, acquaintences, etc., to accomplish needed missions and goals.  For instance, the United States has a relatively low voter turnout compared to other countries.  As a matter of fact, sources rank the U.S. in the lowest 25% worldwide in terms of voter turnout among different countries.  It should be noted that some countries such as Belgium, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Uruguay, to name a few, have compulsory voting.  If you don't vote, you are either fined or disenfranchised.  Compulsory voting is an admirable, if not misguided, attempt at keeping people from becoming complacent.  I believe it is better though to make our decisions freely.  Free will is what was given to us by our Creator, to make right and wrong decisions.  It is what makes us Human. \n\nNow, if we don't tell the government what it is that we want, how can we expect the government to "do anything".  To take it a step further, do we really want the government to "do anything"?  After the tragedy of 9/11, the government "did something" by removing various and sundry civil protections that were afforded to us by federal statute and the Constitution.  Now that's "doing something!"\n\nI, personally, work for the government (a state, but government none-the-less).  Now, I am here to tell you that you really don't want the government "doing anything" without very clear, concise, and incontrovertible, instructions.  It is very important that you go visit at least one government office a week (preferably with a group of your associates) and let them know in very clear terms, what it is that you want them to do. You also could possibly write a letter to the manager or director of the government offices, while sending a copy to your congressman, alderman, commisioner, or what have you, clearly indicating exactly what it is that you think should be done.  Otherwise, the people that work there will go on their merry way, doing what they think they should be doing, when that's not really what they should be doing at all.  But you can't blame them... you didn't tell them!  So how are they to know?  They are people just like you and me.  But sometimes they get isolated and lost, and they forget. At first, it may appear that they are unresponsive.  But that is only because they have gone so long without being reminded what it is that they are supposed to be doing.  It may even be necessary, at first, for you and your associates to stand out in the street in front of the government office, and make a spectacle of yourselves.  But like I said, it's only because the people that work there have forgotten, because we all have gone on our way and left them to their own devices without the guidance, experience, and knowledge, of the body politic. \n\nI noticed in your question that you mentioned your paycheck.  Have you discussed this with your co-workers?  Are they having issues with their paychecks?  Maybe you should consider organising yourselves as a group, and discussing this with your employer?  Perhaps as a group, in negotiations with your employer, you could come up with ways to increase production and efficiency.  This would increase your employer's profit margin and thereby  make it easier for him to give you a raise.  Of course if after you increased his profit margins, he found himself still unable to consider your plight, you would already have formed a group of people with a common bond and concern that would find it within their ability to deal with that too!\n\nSo to answer your question... No, I don't feel particularly betrayed by my government.  I f
891622
Probably they are, but let's still stick by our convictions and see if the new government will listen to what the majority of the people want.  They do need to work hard to gain more support before the 2008 elections.  Hopefully, they will listen to those who employ them.
367828
good question. i think, firstly, to get "everyone" to boycott the vote would be an astounding task, and very unlikely, no matter what. even in countries where this has been tried, you get nothing near 100%. so, let's say it was 50%. i think you already have close to that, in some places, and thus the answer is yes, business as usual. but let's say you upped it to more, more like 80%, or 90%. then, i think you'd have some impact. the question would be what kind of impact?\n\ni think there'd be some kind of panic in the administration, but there would have to be more going on that just people staying home. large-scale protests? they don't seem to have much impact anymore. but if the people didn't just opt out of voting, but created interesting local alternatives to replace government on a communitarian sort of model, then i think there'd be--if not change on government's level, a slow eroding of their ability to influence our lives and hurt us. not voting is not enough. you've got to replace the government with more community-centered activity.