It is quite funny to watch the US election. quite enlightening to ponder how a robust republic, that is capable of emerging from the ashes and debts of the Independence war and the War of 1812, has now turned into a dysfunctional “democracy” and end up with two awful candidates.
What is telling is the the enthusiasm and blindness on both sides. The Clinton supporters, for example, are so against Trump that they are willing to overlook the dark sides of Clinton, which are many. They come up with stories like Putin is manipulating the US election so that Trump can be elected and destroy America. This is the most stupid argument I have ever heard.
First, one should look at the validity of the information leaked by wikileaks, regardless of its sources. If it exposes true problems, address the problem, not just blame and speculate about the sources. The problems are real, and people choose to ignore them. This mentality is awful. With such a partisan mentality of looking at problems exposed, the self-correcting mechanism that is claimed to be so exclusive to democracy, is missing.
Second, it is quite hypocritical. US is not behind anyone in influencing the politics in other countries. Sometimes through money (Marshall Plan being the most famous), sometimes through military support, or sometimes through revealing information (not all of them are true). The truth is, every country does influence the politics in other country, via diplomacy, trade, or military. This is not special, and it is quite insincere to give this any special significance.
Many people on the left view the other side as uneducated, credulous, or downright evil. The truth is far from that. Many of the people I know who is on the right, are well-educated (sometimes with a Harvard PhD in sciences). Many people on the right similarly dismiss people on the other side as thoughtless and arrogant pseudo-intellectual. Not true either. I know some incredibly smart and thoughtful person who support the left while cognizant of the problems with the Clinton. Arrogance is the exclusive asset for either side.
No wonder the politics can sink this low. I guess it will sink lower. The fact that someone with Trump's temperament can be a candidate is a symptom, not the problem. It signals the dysfunction of US politics. The real problem is the dishonesty of the system. Leftists think he is the problem and they never realize their own camp is filled with cancerous cells as well.
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