How does one "fix" America?

With all of its complexities, it is difficult to understand the nation we americans live in, even harder to figure out where it is going. There is national debt, a war that is going nowhere, politicians who few people actually like, and endless other complexities.

People in the USA are constantly demanding "change" but do nothing to cause "change". I would like change too, but I am not sure what changes would be possible or beneficial, let alone how to make them happen. Obviously our politicians do not have the answers, at least that is the general opinion, but I have no idea who to believe.

So, the question here is, what actually needs to change and how do we solve the problems facing America?

Sterilization...oh wait, that's the wrong can of fixing.

First you have to identify the problems, then you can work on a solution. Problem is so many different opinions on what is broken.

@Title: With a MASSIVE pair of shears.

But honestly, most of my complaints are societal and therefore nearly impossible to bring about.

Well... there's that budget deficit to work on... and after that, the debt and the interest it forces afterwards. Problem is you need to raise money for that.

The Venus Project

Start by fixing the extremely broken political system.
Once that is out of the way, you can actually start working on a decent solution.

Streamlining the grotesquely bloated and wasteful military budget would free up a lot of cash.

By suggesting single tract solutions that fail to take in the bigger picture and assume that there is only one single issue plaguing the United States and push that forward until it gets through. Continue to complain afterward when it hasn't fixed everything.

Sleeping pills for everyone.

edited 13th May '11 2:31:10 PM by AllanAssiduity

Get rid of Congress. Their abuse of power (they seem to hold more power than the President now) and lack of term limits (Robert Byrd managed to hold a position until death despite being completely senile towards the end of his life) have created more problems than solved them (even nearly causing a government shutdown).

Nothing. I don't think it's going to get any better unless it all comes crashing down and we get the chance to rebuild first. The cancerous elements in the deepest pores of our society are just too great, and the current extravagance of the past few generations from enjoying the fruits of the labor of generations past which built our powerhouse of a nation.

What about when said generations become out of the picture?

The ones that built it or the ones eroding it now?

Edit: And note I'm only partially saying that on behalf of my opinion of how weak, selfish, and petty the current generation is. The other basis for my statement is that simply every "Empire" in history has gone down this way, every extremely prosperous nation eventually got this way, and several nations besides the US are experiencing that now.

edited 13th May '11 3:18:36 PM by Barkey

Shoot the oligarchs who are ruining this country, and shoot those who support the oligarchs.

Or, if you don't want to commit murder, you could always convince people to vote for you, but who wants to do that?

edited 13th May '11 3:17:03 PM by EnglishIvy

^

Or convince other people to shoot the oligarchs?

We are a nation built on compromise, after all. At least I used to think so.

edited 13th May '11 3:19:21 PM by Barkey

Who says it needs fixing?

^

We're a country of polarization and extremes, and someday it's going to be the death of us.

Left or Right, Democrat or Republican, Christian or Atheist(Born of ignorance of other religions, I often see the religious right look at it like this), Pro or Anti. There's no common sense choices, no variation, no compromise. You're either someone who thinks pure capitalism, pure socialism, pure communism, or pure fascism is the answer, at least if you're anybody in power.

^

That shit I just wrote? It's going to kill us one day. Between polarization of all important issues, lack of dialogue, and the weakening of our youth, we'll fall just like every other Empire or prosperous nation in history that started to decline after it spent some time as the feather in Earths cap. If we don't learn to talk to our opposition, if we don't learn to give and take, our nation is going to crumble.

Bah- sorry Barkey but it's always been that way, even before the Republic was founded. You should read some old newspapers around election time, it's really interesting. The sheer vitriol that they wrote back then. I cant imagine that the polarization we are experiencing now is in any way greater than that during the 1960's, or the 1930's, or 1890's, or the 1860's...

edited 13th May '11 3:28:43 PM by DeMarquis

I'd like to think eventually we'd eventually realize that shit has hit the fan and buckle up and work together.

Now the question is would it be too late at that point?

I hate to admit it but tragedy really does a good job of bringing Americans together.

This. Also I wish America was like other countries where congress would erupt into brawls and violence.

I'd like to see Bachemen (whatever) to get shit smacked.

edited 13th May '11 3:29:24 PM by Thorn14

^^

I'm fed up with it, I hate this frigging country and I want someone to try and actually fix it, not ruin it. I would like to love my country again, but I just don't see it happening any time soon.

Barkey- it's up to you. We all know you want to... run for office already.

One person cant make much of a difference.

I dont want a violent "revolution" but dammit....

I wish people would march to washington en masse and demand something be done.

But the problem is the media and politicians have done such a good job of splitting up america, nothing will be done.

What was the line, about how the youth of today are lazy, shiftless, and disrespect their elders?

And yet young people are the ones you see actually going out and making themselves heard instead of just grumbling to themselves "Dern gubbmint"

I'll give lots of college students credit for trying, though I rarely agree with their points. Sometimes they fall under the same polarization and just want to socialize the entire country or turn us into a bunch of communes or some other form of strange. It's great if that's what you support, but I can't really get behind any of those causes.

I think the older folks have a tendency to just get apathetic to it after a while. They have their own lives, careers, and families to worry about, so eventually they only pay a cursory glance to politics.

edited 13th May '11 3:47:21 PM by Barkey