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this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2024
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United States | News & Politics
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Let’s just get Kamala elected and then we can address all this stuff. Because if Trump wins, you’ll never hear from third parties again.
That's what everyone said with Clinton and Biden. And after Trump there will be another terrible guy.
It's her party that's kicking Greens off the ballot, specifically so they don't split the vote and hurt her chances. There's a bipartisan attack on Democracy happening right before your eyes.
I love how libs are downvoting you for pointing out basic facts of the situation. These people don't give a shit about democracy, they just want to make sure they're in power.
I’m frankly baffled at this vitriol and myopia. I thought we libs were the smart ones.
They are doing their darndest to dispel such misconceptions.
Ok, I did my best to put together a little analogy story for you:
The Fire King and the Burned-Out Forest:
There was this kingdom, real pretty and peaceful, sitting right smack in the middle of a valley surrounded by thick, wild woods. Folks there lived a good life—farming, trading, and minding their own business. But one day, a fire broke out in the northern part of the forest, and it wasn’t just any fire. This thing was hungry. Hungry enough to burn the whole damn kingdom down if nobody did anything.
Now, the king—let’s just call him King Ray, because hell, why not?—he wasn’t a bad guy. He liked to keep things fair. Didn’t like no bloodshed, liked to rule with a steady hand. But he could see that fire coming, and he knew he had a decision to make. And fast. Problem was, no matter what he did, somebody was gonna get burned.
Here’s the rub: if King Ray didn’t act, the fire would roll over the hills and right down into the kingdom, turning everything to ash. The houses, the crops, the people—ain’t nobody gonna be left but a pile of charred bones. The kind of ruin you can’t come back from.
But if he did act, it meant he’d have to order his soldiers to go out and burn a part of the forest themselves. Cut the fire off before it spread too far. Only problem was, there were folks living in that forest. Villagers who’d built their whole lives out there. Small houses, little farms—nothing much, but it was theirs, and it meant everything to ’em.
The Hard Call:
Now, King Ray wasn’t no sadist. He didn’t get his kicks by hurting people. Hell, he’d rather throw a feast than a fist. But this was different. He knew if they torched a chunk of that forest, they could save the kingdom, but it’d mean those villagers were gonna lose their homes, maybe even a few of ’em would get caught up in the flames. But the fire—the one that was already out of control—wasn’t gonna care about any of that.
It was one of those rotten choices, the kind where no matter what you pick, somebody’s gonna hate you for it. But King Ray, he was smart enough to know something worse. Doing nothing—letting the fire come—meant everybody was gonna hate him, because everybody was gonna burn.
Lesser of Two Devils:
So, Ray’s sitting there, scratching at his beard, staring at the flames licking the horizon, and he says, “Ain’t no good options left.” He orders his men to set fire to the north side of the forest, make a break. It’s cruel, and it’s rough, but it’s gotta be done. The fire’ll stop there, and the kingdom—most of it, anyway—will be saved.
Now, the villagers—they don’t understand. All they know is their homes are burning, and they blame Ray for it. And hell, he don’t blame them for blaming him. From where they’re standing, it sure looks like the king done ’em dirty. But what they don’t see, can’t see, is that if he hadn’t made that call, the whole kingdom, every man, woman, and child, would be nothing but smoke in the wind.
Doing What’s Ugly to Keep What’s Right:
The thing folks forget is this: sometimes being a king—or hell, just a person who’s got people counting on ’em—means you gotta make decisions that make you sick to your stomach. Ray didn’t want to burn those homes, didn’t want those folks to lose everything, but he’d be damned if he was gonna sit on his throne and watch the fire swallow up his whole kingdom.
See, the truth is, when the devil’s breathing down your neck, you don’t get to choose between right and wrong no more. You’re just picking between bad and worse, and praying to whatever gods are left that you picked bad, because worse’ll bury you.
End of the Day:
King Ray made his choice. He saved the kingdom, but it cost him. Cost him some good folks, some respect, and a chunk of his own soul. But that’s what you get in this world. There ain’t no perfect heroes, no clean endings. Sometimes, you just gotta make the call and live with the ashes.
jesus, I was hoping for some well thought-out brilliantly hidden metaphor that would help illuminate others understanding of something. This story is just pure bull-shit like an elon musk fanboy literature night.
The villagers don't know or can't see the smoke from the fire but must "trust the king" (not how wildfires work, you've made a boogeyman).
No one but the kings soldiers are "solving" the problem? Bullshit, it would take the entire kingdom of support to save it.
A few villagers will die from the fire the kingdom sets, but it's necessary for the greater good. WTF kinda dystopian bullshit is this? There's no way to inform your citizens of the impending doom?!?
"he’d be damned if he was gonna sit on his throne and watch the fire swallow up his whole kingdom". Maybe that's the problem with your entire story. Person is ruling from the throne and not trusted or respected by his community enough to care about a problem they're being presented. The people wouldn't trust his actions because there will be no compensation or reflection for his decisions that effect their life, "well it was for the greater good, so be happy peasant".
Cool fairy tail. So if I'm reading it right, I'm just a stupid fucking medieval peasant and the affairs of our glorious kingdom are too complicated for my simple little mind to understand. I need to trust me Lord to fight the devil and not think too hard about it.
Kings get the guillotine.
It's called "lesser of two evils", it takes two seconds to explain, it's been a core Democratic talking point for decades, and it is self-defeating bullshit.
Genociding Palestinians is truly the hard call that needs to be made. Can you explain how Hitler was a good guy next?
It sucks how Trump used his president-powers to do this.
Galaxy brain take
Bull
Fucking
Shit
Unlike many things... electoral reform is 100% possible at the state level. We don't need federal reform to do away with First Past The Post voting.
Perhaps it's to late to accomplish electoral reform for this election without a general strike... but don't fool yourself that electing democrats will automatically solve our artificially limited electoral system woes.
Democrats admit themselves they understand the flaws of FPTP voting. They are 10,000% fully aware.
Just go anywhere online or leave your basement and go IRL (eww) and talk to a liberal about voting 3rd party. They will fully inform you that your vote will be wasted, how it will be a spoiler for the election. This admission has not just their hands covered in red, the whole town is painted red. The democrats KNOW about the mathematical flaws of the voting system. They bring it up EVERY SINGLE ELECTION.
Yet... First Past The Post voting persists in blue states. Who is stopping this reform, election after election, if the republicans are not in power on these states? If it's not the republicans, who wholeheartedly support FPTP voting, then who? Who is even left in a two party system? No where to hide blue conservatives, you've shown your hand.
Maine and Alaska have already accomplished this task, what the hell is the hold up in states democrats control?
Cast your "damage control vote part 69" this election. But don't leave it at that. Don't wait another 2 years and go "well guys, guess we have to vote lemon lime flavored genocide light again". Fuck that. Fix this shit. Fix it in your state. We all know that you understand the problem. So stop fucking ignoring it!