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Old June 23, 2009, 11:03 PM   #42
ADB
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 28, 2009
Posts: 399
Quote:
It seems to me that governments evolve into abusive systems
Not inherently. The problem is that humans tend toward laziness. A great many people are easily taken in by the desire for quick fixes and a dislike for nuance or complexity. They want simple, quick fix answers to everything. It's easier to look like you're doing something than to actually fix the problem, thus that's where many politicians go.

So you get mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, even though forced rehabilitation has a vastly lower recidivism rate. You get ineffective gun laws that harass legal owners, instead of going after the roots of gang violence. You get "let's bomb somebody" as a solution to foreign policy instead of careful, grueling diplomacy.

It's easy to blame politicians, but whenever you're talking about the failings of democratic government, one must remember that you're by nature talking about our own failings. These are, after all, the people we elect.

Quote:
and the Islamic terrorists are probably one of our least threatening foes in history.
I'm still shocked that anybody continued to take them seriously after their frontline volunteer for the second wave of attacks proved unable to light a fuse. Blind stupid luck combined with defenders asleep at the switch doesn't make an existential threat.
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