That such banal tripe is cause for confusion is what's worriesome. When in doubt, follow the money; then, one can see that there has been a logical progression to where we are now. The USA could now be more accuractely dubbed the "DCSA" ...Divided Corporate State of America. Borderless countries, a.k.a international conglomerates own the lion's share of everything; include our goverment in that portfolio. Our government is highly effective and responsive to its constituents...corporate fiefdoms. Just what does any rational person, capable of indepent thought, expect from corporate goverment? It's still impossible to serve more than one master. Corporations finance the Republican party, who makes rules favoring...whom? Three corporations own 97% of conventional media. Hmmm..."liberal = left = democrat", "conservative = right = republican" And the mainstream media uses professional wrestling scripts to whine about how "the liberal left" controls them.
The disturbing part of this is how successful decades of propaganda have been. Apparently,
the people are that weak-minded. I mean with less than two political parties, cut from the same used toilet paper, how can any positive solution be expected. The powers that be understand "divide and conquer". So most of us debate over who's the smartest peanut in this turd and meanwhile, it's business as usual in our country (circling the drain). Individually, people can be brilliant. Collectively, "the people" are frightened, apathetic, sheep.
I dislike the republicans in particular, based on 40 years of results. The dems aren't much better, or more accurately "less worse". Neither represents the vast majority (90%) of us. And, when exactly did it become logical to buy into the notion that Americans are all either one party or the other?
Whisky,
Tango,
Foxtrot

Both parties will have to be emasculated and replaced by several, or better yet for a "governement by by the people" the party system elminated altogether. Until that happens, expect more of the same... divided and conquered. I'm not holding my breath. For any meaningful change to occur, things would have to get so bad that people refer to now as "the good old days". Otherwise, the money and power are so concentrated that the black-hole-like critical mass threshold will remain sufficiently unaffected.
I find the whole dumbed-down mess more than disgusting. Years ago "Made in USA" meant quality and there was a lot of it out there. Now, such a label is harder to find than new diamond mines and the main thing "made in USA", circa 2008, will be know for is top-quality BS.
You have to think for yourself, of course that could be taken as being elitist. How many people are capable of that? With regard to our sham elections, since there's no chance the best man for the job will even be on any ballot, there's still a way to figure out who's least worst. He's always the one being attacked the most by mainstream media.