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0 pointsJumpCrisscross26d ago0 comments

> don't think the American people can change their country's policy oriented toward a constant state of war, aggression, and invasions of other countries under the current system

Of course we can. People disagreeing with you doesn't mean they don't exist.

These are the Senate seats in play this cycle [1]. How many of those do you think would be flipped based on any foreign policy item?

If you're on this thread you pay attention to foreign policy. The notion that someone doesn't–not isn't informed, but literally doesn't to any degree–is almost more foreign than the strangest countries we read about. But the truth is most Americans have never ranked any foreign policy item as being in their top three issues since the Vietnam War.

We could change it if we wanted to. We don't because it's not personally pertinent or worse, it's boring. (And, I'd argue, because a lot of foreign-policy oriented activists are preaching for the choir versus trying to actually effect change.)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elec...

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somenameforme26d ago

Americans ranked foreign policy as the third most relevant issue for them in 2016, tied with immigration. [1] It's disingenuous to ignore that both parties have traditionally had mostly the same foreign policy stance. So you're voting for forever war, or forever war. How can it be a deciding factor for voters in this context?

But 2016 was different because Trump was the first candidate in some time to run on something even vaguely flirting with being anti-war, as he actively called out the endless wars of the political establishment, and argued that America first should not involve us wasting our money bombing countries half-way around the world. It was a relatively weak position but even that was enough to get 13% of voters to declare foreign policy as their key issue, tied with immigration. And Trump ended up winning their vote by an 18 point margin.

Anti-war is one of the relatively large number of issues that Americans largely agree on, but the political establishment makes it impossible to vote for, because you'll never find a mainstream candidate running on a platform that aligns with public interest. So for instance 84% of Americans think that "the American military should be used only as a last resort", that Congressional approval should be required for military action, and so on. [2]

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidentia...

[2] - https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/new-poll-shows-pub...

JumpCrisscrossOP26d ago

> 84% of Americans think that "the American military should be used only as a last resort", that Congressional approval should be required for military action, and so on

In general, yes. What fraction of Trump voters do you think would agree that Trump should face any consequences for bypassing the Congress?

somenameforme25d ago

Or Obama's, or Bush's, or Clinton's? By the time somebody is in office and engaging in a pro-war platform, his supporters will look the other way. Even moreso in modern American politics where people are often no longer even voting for people they like, but for people they loathe less than the alternative. It's why electoral choice, which is largely absent in America, is so critical for the functioning of a healthy system.

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