What concepts captured by single words make US politics most dysfunctional?

[HereSince1628]

I'll start with THEY.

They oppress us.

They oppose us.

They are moonbats.

They don’t understand.

They aren’t reasonable.

They are obstructionists.

They are greedy.

They cheat.

They are corrupted

They don't pay heed to us.

They want to enslave us.


Very simply, there is no end to the list of faults "THEY" have.


Based on its ubiquity, it seems that "THEY" is somehow central of our dysfunction.

[Scuba]

1. Graft.

[HereSince1628]

3. Yes, that must be in there

[Posteritatis]

2. "Exceptionalism" is the one word I'd nominate. (nt)

[HereSince1628]

4. Obviously for foreign policy, interesting to think about that around domestic policy.

[Posteritatis]

10. I don't think you can separate the two

Think of the giant pile of policies which regularly get dismissed out of hand at least in part because "that's something other countries do."

[HereSince1628]

11. true

[Scuba]

5. Americans don't believe in "American Exceptionalism" ...

... if we did, we'd fund the Patent Office.

http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2011/06/08/house-republicans-oppose-adequately-funded-patent-office/id=17622/

[HereSince1628]

8. What about this sort of exceptionalism...

I can drive faster than the speed limit.

I'm smart and the prohibition on marijauna use is stupid?

Or with the risk of starting a fire here...

I'm toughing out my depression without a Dr, so it's ok for me to buy a pistol?

[HereSince1628]

9. That's interesting that Rs don't seem to want American innovation protected.

[benld74]

6. Entitlements

[HereSince1628]

7. I suppose that is as used in the phrase "I don't want to pay for their entitlements"

Or did I read that wrongly?


And if it is that problem Is that inseparable from the problem:

THEY have entitlements?

[benld74]

14. What Democrats call Social Security and the like are named Entitlements by the GOP

[Initech]

12. "Makers" and "takers".

They have those two terms mixed up.

We are the real makers in our society.

The corporations CEOs are the real takers.

They TAKE our pension.

They TAKE our schools, prisons, military, and infrastructure and turn them into for profit shit holes with no accountability.

They TAKE the tax refunds.

They TAKE the subsidiaries when they already make billions.

They TAKE our money and store it overseas so they pay no taxes.


Who are the real TAKERS again?

[HereSince1628]

16. very true

[datasuspect]

13. banana republic

[RainDog]

15. Lobbyists

Revolving Door
Beltway Bubble
1%-ers

Lies
Lies
Lies

Sexism
Homophobia
Racism

[Zorra]

17. 1%.

yeh, i know but i couldn't think of a single word that captured the essential concept properly.

[HereSince1628]

18. Close enough to include I think!

[LadyHawkAZ]

19. Profit.

[HereSince1628]

20. No doubt.