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Originally posted by jaguar
Tw, you have a point but your also missing whats going on. The protest movement he is a member of is incredibly diverse, the media hates this coz it can't really sum it up or find a common spokesperson.
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This isn't necessarily a good thing though. Without a common goal, spokesperson, or target, the protests will continue to be as they are--somewhat organized, but with more dangerous fringe activity than needed.
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Sweden is a socialist state, higher taxes, but better public amenities, one of the lowest hard drug usage rates etc (I can start pulling more positive stats if you want but I have to be at a formal in an hour so).
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Last I heard, the dollars are starting to dwindle in Sweden and Canada. Socialism truly is a wonderful concept, but it costs money.
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Sorry but if you think meetings like the WTO (are about solving the issues above in a reasonably manner, I’m past being able to believe that.
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Damn jag...you're only 16...if you're this pessimistic now, wait til you're 40
Like Candide in the book by Voltaire, I still believe this is the best of all possible worlds. I knew damned good and well the US would never sign the Kyoto Protocol. Nor will the US sign off on the World Court deal involving prisoners that was going on a few months back. Nor will the US give what it truly should to the UN.
In 1914, the US was a big fan of isolationism, hence it took 3 years for us to join WW1. It's almost that way now. Lots of people freaked out over NAFTA, particularly unions...because they were afraid of jobs leaving the States. (That's a matter for another topic though.)
The point I'm making is that the US is slow to warm to a GLOBAL vision. Many folks (particularly Republicans/conservatives) don't look at the US as one cog in the global machine...they only want what's good for America. That may have been fine 70 years ago, but certainly not now. Our dues to the UN were held up for what? 2 years? All because Republicans didn't want to fund family planning issues within the UN (due to the possibility of abortion). Big business is lining the pockets of many politicians on both sides of the aisle...heaven forbid we clean up the air at the cost of capitalism. And actually, that's another perspective to look at--the US takes capitalism to great extremes.
But I still have faith that the US and the other members of the G8 will work together to make our world a better place for all people. I don't think it's fair to point the finger specifically at the G8 or the IMF, for example. As bureaucracies go, they try to do the best job they can within that red tape. The US is slow to warm up to things, but once the US is more isolated, they'll come around.
I won't deny that I have some skepticism, particularly because of the guy that was elected under suspicious pretenses here in the States. My other reason for trepidation is that the baby boomers started turning 55 this year...soon they'll be retiring. Their generation and the generation before it are THE capitalists--the folks driving the gas-guzzling SUVs, not caring about recycling, concerned with mass consumption. (Not all of them are like this of course, but this is an example.)
Your spirit is in the right place jag b/c you (as well as many others) obviously care about what is going on in our world. But if we lose any sense of optimism about the current times, the "powers that be" will seize upon it...and then nothing will ever change. I'm not all for the protests just yet, but I will try to do my part in other ways, such as my possible run for City Council.