[Waterluvian]

The Americans have what’s basically a cultural trait at this point of deflecting ownership of their government’s actions with “not my president so not my failure” abdication of responsibility.

I wish we could open trade talks with these people instead. But, alas, that’s not how it works.

[w0de0]

Fine, it’s all my fault. Neither me nor my state voted that way, I’ve protested like hell, but nonetheless at your insistence I accept personal responsibility for the policy choices of the federal government.

What do you propose I do?

Or did you just want my permission to be personally angry at me? Not sure you needed it, but you’ve now got it.

[customguy]

> What do you propose I do?

They asked to stop deflecting. Take that literally. Imagine this page without the comment and the comments hanging off it.

"Don't do this thing". "What should I do instead?" Your choice. Maybe nothing. When there is nothing serious to say, maybe sit with the silence, that space where a little joke or some cynicism would relieve the pressure without doing any productive work, and let it work on you. At least until you can't take it anymore, and maybe tomorrow you'll last longer, and maybe next week you'll have a breakthrough.

At any rate, others can't tell us how to fix a situation we're not part of causing. In a society of millions, while each can say "I'm just one of many", nobody else can say more, so we always have "full" responsibility, that is, the maximum possible. Put differently, it is not possible for a single person to be solely responsible for what two people do, but that doesn't change the responsibility they do have.

This isn't about spilled milk, but rather about the question on who it is to fix this. It is on you. If you cannot do it alone, you have to organise with others. But there is nobody, as long as you're an adult and a citizen, that you can point to that should be expected to "do it" instead.

Though I don't mean this in a finger-pointy way either because we all sit in glass houses. There may be differences in degree and all that, but when it comes to what should or could be, and how it is, we're all so far from the mark that bickering about who is the worst and who should get "the" blame for the situation, rather than how to change it, seems pointless.

> Or did you just want my permission to be personally angry at me? Not sure you needed it, but you’ve now got it.

I personally wish you a really awesome weekend, stranger. You insisted on making this personal, now deal with it >:[

[swed420]

> The Americans have what’s basically a cultural trait at this point of deflecting ownership of their government’s actions with “not my president so not my failure” abdication of responsibility.

That's merely a symptom of the underlying problem, which is that capital interests run the show, and have for many decades.

What we refer to as a democracy is illusory. We basically have a uniparty, but most people are fooled by the sports team arrangement of good cop / bad cop. Those who aren't fooled feel powerless, and they are right to.

Anyone who balks at this need only consider which things receive bi-partisan support.

[ndsipa_pomu]

Well, a two-party system is bound to be compromised as voters don't have reasonable choices.

[swed420]

Euro countries with >2 parties have the similar capture problems.

[jibal]

No, it's those who say "He's my President! (also yours)" who deny and deflect all responsibility.

[ourmandave]

Yeah, the guy who declared "No Kings" demonstrators extremists and terrorists, and threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act against ICE protestors has in effect said he's not my president for me.