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William Voll

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Politics needs to stop being about the group

In the US you have republicans and democrats. They all seem to vote one way or the other depending on what the "party" is supposed to do.

What is wrong with them? How can they be that stupid?

Why can't they do what is right and look at each issue alone and put their own vote on it and not what their "group" says they should do? If only every person really voted on what they believed in, the world would be so much better.

It seems to me that the US government turned into a big high school drama club. It wasn't so long ago that the republicans would not pass anything at all until they got their way on a tax cut law.

In my eyes the "groups" no longer work. It only hurts everything. Noone is looking at the issues they are looking at what other people are saying they should do and going with the group, we are be lead by a few groups of cheerleaders. Its a joke and makes me ashamed of my government.

Topics: american politics highschool
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    Fritzie Reisner 100+

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    Aug 3 2012: The issue of herd mentality is not unique to politics. It has for decades sat at the center of marketing strategies as well, as the marketer seeks to define and portray an "us" to which people will yearn to belong. (And buy the products/services that promise to confer such membership)

    There is, in fact, no conflict between independent-mindedness and collaboration. Collaboration has its greatest value when people bring their differences to the table. And yet many of us, surely, have experienced environments in which questioning the common or accepted wisdom of "the tribe" is flagged as being uncollaborative or unwelcome.
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      pat gilbert 50+

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      Aug 3 2012: Good point however Imo the difference between a group or herd and a small group where the individual benefits and prospers needs to be punctuated as the difference is apples and bird cages.
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        Fritzie Reisner 100+

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        Aug 3 2012: I agree that small groups tend to be much more effective in many respects than giant groups but that open-mindedness and independent-mindedness are virtues in both.
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          pat gilbert 50+

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          Aug 3 2012: I will agree about small groups where the individual is benefited. I will disagree regarding large groups and they and individual are from a practical view and by definition are the antithesis of each other
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          James Zhang 30+

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          Aug 3 2012: My boss explained to me the differences between small groups vs big corporations.

          Small Groups have better and faster communication. More people are on the same page, and decisions are much faster to do. However, because of their lack of numbers, actually executing their projects on a larger scale becomes much harder.

          Big corporations have the work-power. They dish out things faster because of sheer manpower. However, communication becomes their bigger problem. You start having bureaucracies because there are simply too many people to work with. Not everyone is on the same page. There could be way more internal conflicts.
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          pat gilbert 50+

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          Aug 3 2012: I would agree with your boss except large groups are made up of small groups this is a key point because with small groups you will get the benefit of bottom up thinking which is a huge advantage. The fact that the top down organizations ( think countries) have the scale to do the work does not mean they are the most efficient. The company that does this superbly and perhaps the only company that does this who builds their foundation from the individual and bottom up and inculcating the scientific method.
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          pat gilbert 50+

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          Aug 4 2012: Not going to ask me who this company is? As usual I'm talking to myself.
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        peter lindsay 30+

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        Aug 6 2012: Toyota also have free healthcare and dental and an excellent retirement fund. If they were a country they'd be labelled socialists.
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          pat gilbert 50+

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          Aug 6 2012: No they wouldn't how can a private company be called socialist?
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        peter lindsay 30+

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        Aug 6 2012: If it became so big and had so much influence over the lives of its employees that it was indistinguishable from a state. (When they buy an island in the middle of the Pacific and move the whole operation there and call it TOYOTALAND.) I think I just came up with a new plan for world domination! I wonder how much I could get Nauru for?

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