#politics The very idea that one does not have a "direct stake" in the future of the US unless one has biological children...wtf??? I can only make sense of that as a lack of empathy. You shouldn't only be able to love your biological child like that. You can want the best for anybody's children. You can want the best for people you don't even know just because you know they exist.
This is like how I've seen people argue that if they don't have children in school - homeschooling, or kids have already gratuate, etc - then it's not fair for them to still have to pay taxes for funding public schools.
Those kids in school are going to be your emergency responders, store clerks, and a lot of other roles in your community one day. Just because they aren't your kids doesn't mean this has nothing to do with you.
@IrelandTorin Unfortunately, I agree. I once would have said they aren't thinking that far ahead. More and more, though, I see them playing on things people commonly misunderstand about how our govt works instead of trying to educate them.
@weirdfizz Yep.
They also (alongside their patron megacorporations & media) engage in very Orwellian manipulation of language, beliefs, & social expectations for the purpose of helping them gain/maintain a death grip on power.
Case in point, the introduction & encouragement of extreme pacifist (more like passive-ist) beliefs among the centre & left, while helping further encourage aggression/casual attitudes towards violence on the right.
The left was historically NOT passive & limp-wristed.
@weirdfizz The left was also historically NOT obsessed with what are in truth (in terms of total impact on the population) relatively minor sideshow policy topics like gender/trans issues.
That also appears to be a result of corporate/ultrawealthy manipulation of the media (which they can do since megacorps and the ultrawealthy OWN the media & lean far-right) with the intent of sabotaging the left through pervasive distraction by low-impact high-controversy issues.
Clearly it's been effective.
@weirdfizz What they're also missing: every dollar invested in education generates *several* dollars in economic activity.
I believe it's in the ballpark of $7 of economic activity for each $1 spent on education. It literally pays for itself several times over!
The reason education budgets get slashed is not because it benefits the country financially (it doesn't), but because the people making decisions WANT to keep people uninformed & foment stupidity.
Why? Stupid = easier to scam/control.