Political Opinions

[SaturnVengeance]

I spent the last 45 minutes or so writing this thread, so please, share your thoughts on these topics:

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?


2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?


3. Should the death penalty be abolition?


4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?


5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?


6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?


7. Should stem cell research be legal?


8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?


9. Should the police get money directly from tickets or should ticket money be put in with other government spending?


10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?


11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?


12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?


13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?


14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)?


15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?


16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?


17. Should gay marriage be legalized?


18. Should we recognize the independent nation of Kosovo?


19. Should we recognize the independent nation of Azerbaijan?


20. Should we recognize the independent nation of Jonathanland?


21. Should we recognize the independent nation of South Ossetia?


22. Should Puerto Rico become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?


23. Should Guam become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?


24. Should American Samoa become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?


25. Should the US Virgin Islands become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?


26. Should the US Minor Outlying Islands become US states, become and independent countries, or remain US territories?


27. Should we make Iraq a US state?


28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?


29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?


30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?


31. Should the government make stronger efforts to stop illegal immigration, especially from Mexico?


32. Should citizens of the District of Columbia be granted full voting rights?


33. Should New York City become it's own state, an independent country, or remain part of New York?


34. Should the United States create a North American Union with Canada? If so should we allow Mexico to join?


35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?


36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?


37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?


38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?


39. Should the government shutdown 4chan, just /b/, or neither?


40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?


41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?


42. Should church and state remain separate?


43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?


44. Should the government offer free healthcare?


45. Should the government offer free college/university education?


46. Should tobacco be made illegal?


47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?


48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?


49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?


50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?


51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?


52. Should we allow weapons in space?


53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?


54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?


55. Should Julian Assange be tried in court for sexually assaulting (and raping) women and for releasing top secret government and military documents to the public?


56. Should NASA work harder to accomplish goals such as making first contact, building space ships, and colonizing other planets?


57. Should NASA set-up a colony on Mars using their proposed one-way trip system?


58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?


59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?


60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?


61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?


62. Should the government and military work to help stop and prevent genocides, civil wars, and other atrocities happening around the world, such as in Africa?


63. Should research into cloning be conducted?


64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?


65. Should Guantanamo Bay become a US state?


66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?


67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:15 PM ----------

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?
no


2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?
no


3. Should the death penalty be abolished?
yes, except during certain cases such as a mass serial killer


4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?
no

5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?
no

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?
legal


7. Should stem cell research be legal?
yes

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?
yes, but only if they are guilty beyond a reasonably doubt

9. Should the police get money directly from tickets or should ticket money be put in with other government spending?
no

10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?
no

11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?
yes

12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?
yes

13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?
no

14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)?
mixed

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?
yes

16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?
no

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?
yes

18. Should we recognize the independent nation of Kosovo?
yes

19. Should we recognize the independent nation of Azerbaijan?
yes

20. Should we recognize the independent nation of Jonathanland?
yes

21. Should we recognize the independent nation of South Ossetia?
yes

22. Should Puerto Rico become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?
US State

23. Should Guam become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?
US State

24. Should American Samoa become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?
US State

25. Should the US Virgin Islands become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?
US State

26. Should the US Minor Outlying Islands become US states, become and independent countries, or remain US territories?
US States

27. Should we make Iraq a US state?
yes

28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?
yes

29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?
neutral

30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?
only a little bit to help fix the economy

31. Should the government make stronger efforts to stop illegal immigration, especially from Mexico?
yes

32. Should citizens of the District of Columbia be granted full voting rights?
yes

33. Should New York City become it's own state, an independent country, or remain part of New York?
either remain part of New York or become it's own state

34. Should the United States create a North American Union with Canada? If so should we allow Mexico to join?
not now, but perhaps in the future, but not with Mexico unless Mexico becomes a first-world country by that time

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?
no

36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?
no, but it should be frowned upon

37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?
no

38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?
yes

39. Should the government shutdown 4chan, just /b/, or neither?
maybe /b/, but only if they get out of hand

40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?
yes

41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?
yes

42. Should church and state remain separate?
yes

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?
yes

44. Should the government offer free healthcare?
no

45. Should the government offer free college/university education?
no

46. Should tobacco be made illegal?
no

47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?
no

48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?
only if it's necessary

49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?
no

50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?
yes

51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?
no and absolutely not, school uniforms don't exist in the US and they could never exist here in public schools due to cliques and how high school students have always had the freedom of being able to dress how they wish, so long as they don't violate a dress code

52. Should we allow weapons in space?
yes, but only for the US, not for other countries

53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?
yes

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?
yes

55. Should Julian Assange be tried in court for sexually assaulting (and raping) women and for releasing top secret government and military documents to the public?
yes

56. Should NASA work harder to accomplish goals such as making first contact, building space ships, and colonizing other planets?
yes

57. Should NASA set-up a colony on Mars using their proposed one-way trip system?
yes

58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?
they should, but it's not really plausible

59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?
yes, but not near large population centers

60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?
yes

61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?
yes

62. Should the government and military work to help stop and prevent genocides, civil wars, and other atrocities happening around the world, such as in Africa?
yes

63. Should research into cloning be conducted?
yes

64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?
no

65. Should Guantanamo Bay become a US state?
yes

66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?
no, but we should peacefully assimilate other countries into the US if they want to become states

67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?
hopefully sometime in the future

 

[zobothehobo]

27. Should we make Iraq a US state?
yes

28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?
yes

Ok, I was going to respond to these questions... but now I think this is just a joke. You can't be serious about these two answers OR questions.

EDIT: I just saw this one

64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?
no

Are you serious?! Like are you serious?

 

[msfantastico87]

Ok, I read over this thread and I am just really trying to understand what's going on here lol. I think some of these are kind of ridiculous. I'll try my best to answer though.

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?

I am a firm believer of the legalization of marijuana. I won't go into full details as I may upset some people. So that's all I'll say about that.

4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?

Negative. I truly believe that video games can help a teen. I don't however, believe a game like Grand Theft Auto should be played by a 10 year old. That's why they have these rating systems. When I used to work at Gamestop, we couldn't sell any games rated T or M to anyone without proper identification. I think this has worked out good enough. Plus if you ban them, the kids will just find another way of getting their paws on them.

On another note, video games can be very helpful. Did you know that teenagers that spend most of their time gaming, are actually perfect candidates for becoming surgeons? Better eye-hand coordination than the non-video gamers.

7. Should stem cell research be legal?

Yes. I read a few articles where there have been 2 different cases where Stem cell research has been effective. One case was cancer, the other case was infertility. I approve stem cell research.

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?

I'm not gonna go into full detail, but I do not believe in the death penalty. I don't care how horrible the person was, we are not the ones to decide whether a man/woman live or not. That is up to the man above to decide. Not us. Preferably let him rot in jail

10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?

Really? Like seriously? Then all cops would find any bs reason to pull over an excellent driver. "Oh why am I getting pulled over?" "You were a mile an a half over the speed limit" COME ON!

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?

YES YES YES YES. Sexual Orientation does not change the fact that we are not equal as heterosexuals. After all, we are both humans. Ammi rite?

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?

^^ see above

22. Should Puerto Rico become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

Ok this is where I can be a little bit more detailed. Being Puerto Rican myself, I can give some background as to what the people of PR want. Although not being a state, they still have the same rights as the US. Most Puerto Ricans Want the same rights, but don't want to be legally tied to the US. In other words they want to be independent, with the same rights as the US. I personally think that PR should finally become a state. Not because I agree with them having our rights, but because even if they decide to be independent, that small island is going to go down. erm...That's all I'm going to say about that.

27. Should we make Iraq a US state?

Really? Like....really?

28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?

^^see previous comment

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?

Absolutely not. I am a firm believer of non-censoring books or movies. There is so much to be learned, especially from books. If we were to ban them, there would be so much stupidity in the world.

41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?

Nope. If anything, I would prefer the legal drinking age to be 25. I am 22 and I have seen a lot of legal drinkers get pretty messed up or killed.

42. Should church and state remain separate?

Yes.

51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?

WTF....... *walks away*

 

[Spikefan31]

These seem largely to relate to the US, and having little or no knowledge of US politics, I will politely decline from answering the majority of them. Also, some of the questions seem quite ridiculous, as others have previously stated.

I will answer these few:

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?

Absolutely not.

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?

Definitely. I'm for equal rights for all people.

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?

Definitely.

3. Should the death penalty be abolished?

It already has been in Australia and there's no way I want that to change.

 

[InsaneMystic]

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?
Yes, or at the very least, exceedingly strictly control it.

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?
Yes.

3. Should the death penalty be abolition?
Absolutely yes.

4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?
Control and regulate underage access to violent video games, yes. Banning games outright for adults, no.

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?
Legal.

7. Should stem cell research be legal?
Legal.

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?
Imprisoned and registered, and advised (chemical) castration as a voluntary option.

9. Should the police get money directly from tickets or should ticket money be put in with other government spending?
Go into the general pool of taxes etc.

10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?
No. What a stupid concept.

13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?
Only where failure to do so would cause a domino collapse effect.

14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)?
Mixed, leaning towards command.

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?
Duh! Of course!

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?
No. State recognition of straight marriage should be abolished instead.

30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?
Yes, towards the minimum needed for defending its own borders.

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?
Absolutely not.

36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?
The former is illegal over here, already. The latter should not be illegal.

37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?
Sounds good.

38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?
Fine line to tread. If there's a risk of compromising free speech or privacy of data by that increase of power, then no.

40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?
No.

41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?
Yes.

42. Should church and state remain separate?
Definitely yes.

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?
Yes.

44. Should the government offer free healthcare?
To those below the poverty line, yes, absolutely.

46. Should tobacco be made illegal?
47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?
Absolutely not. The main effect of prohibition was giving rise to powerful organized crime syndicates... as everyone with even the slightest grasp of human psychology could easily have foreseen.

48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?
49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?
Keeping secrets may be necessary at times; lying is an absolute no.

50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?
That's not the governments job, but that of parents/guardians and schools.

51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?
WTF? No?!

52. Should we allow weapons in space?
No.

53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?
Yes.

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?
No. The German system (limited consent 14-16, full consent 16) seems fine with me.

58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?
Yes.

59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?
Until a safer equivalent is found. R&D of alternative, environmentally friendly energy must
be given a very high priority.

60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?
No.

63. Should research into cloning be conducted?
Yes.

64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?
Absolutely yes.

66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?
Are you serious?

67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?
The US, as meant to be in theory - sounds like a good long-term goal.
The US, as it currently stands in practice - a world of no.

 

[Username]

there are so many questions...


6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?
Legal.

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?
Imprisoned and registered as sex offenders.


10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?
No.


11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?
Yes.

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?
Of course.

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?
Yes!


36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?
No.


42. Should church and state remain separate?
Yes.

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?
No.

47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?
No.

52. Should we allow weapons in space?
haha, what for ?

 

[zobothehobo]

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?
No.

Just out of curiosity, why not? I've never understood the objection to a mosque beside Ground Zero. (to clarify, I'm not looking to debate this, I just want to understand the objection to it)

 

[Username]

Just out of curiosity, why not? I've never understood the objection to a mosque beside Ground Zero. (to clarify, I'm not looking to debate this, I just want to understand the objection to it)

I am not going to debate this either, but it's not so much about Ground Zero, I don't think you should be builiding mosques anywhere.

 

[zobothehobo]

I am not going to debate this either, but it's not so much about Ground Zero, I don't think you should be builiding mosques anywhere.

I'd rep this but I've given out too much in the past 24 hours. Are you kidding? Is it about you don't think anyone should practice religion?

 

[Username]

I'd rep this but I've given out too much in the past 24 hours. Are you kidding? Is it about you don't think anyone should practice religion?

Yes, and especially Islam.

 

[prophecygrrl]

Yes, and especially Islam.

I'm not looking to get into another full-on debate on only a few issues like we did in the other political spectrum thread, but..what? Care to explain? This statement sounds very hateful. I'm not a fan of organized religion myself, but... 😵 I don't understand why Islam is singled out to be "especially" bad.

 

[Username]

I'm not looking to get into another full-on debate on only a few issues like we did in the other political spectrum thread, but..what? Care to explain? This statement sounds very hateful. I'm not a fan of organized religion myself, but... 😵 I don't understand why Islam is singled out to be "especially" bad.

I don't think I'm hateful, I'm critical to it. I'm not going to argue my case, debating is not something I do well, but what I have read and seen about Islam does bother me more than Christianity and Judaism. That's really all I want to say about it, otherwise we are going to a very bad place and I don't want to go there.

 

[This Year's Girl]

I don't think I'm hateful, I'm critical to it. I'm not going to argue my case, debating is not something I do well, but what I have read and seen about Islam does bother me more than Christianity and Judaism. That's really all I want to say about it, otherwise we are going to a very bad place and I don't want to go there.

I understand if you don't want to debate. But in the same time, when you aren't giving any valid arguments about why you feel this way and still decided to state it it just comes off as discriminatory.

 

[Washburne]

So much to say...

But I don't see this ending well. Good luck to you that try. Remember to be civil.

Over and out.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

I have no opinions nor I'm interested in it. 😉

 

[prophecygrrl]

A few(ish) of the questions that I'd like to respond to:

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?
Restrict, not prohibit. I hate guns personally and I don't want them any where near me, but absolute prohibition of anything is almost never efficient in the way people intend it to be.

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?
Yes. With restrictions the same as for alcohol and cigarettes.

3. Should the death penalty be abolition?
YES.

5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?
Yes. We should not have a military presence there in the first place. I'm not saying leave it alone to sort their own problems out when very many of said problems are a product of a history of Western imperialism, extreme poverty, etc., but there are alternatives to war.

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?
LEGAL.

7. Should stem cell research be legal?
Absolutely.

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?
I believe the death penalty should be abolished, so yeah, sign me up for the 'no killing' option. 🙂 Pedophiles/child molesters should be imprisoned (er, imprisonment is not a "simple" punishment, btw...) and registered as sex offenders. I have some issues with the sex offender system in America, as in many states the legal term 'sex offender' is very broad and can include ridiculous things like indecent exposure or peeing in public, or relatively innocuous and understandable things like an eighteen year old having sex with a seventeen year old (age of consent here is 18). Chemical castration should be a voluntary issue. Forcing medication and drugs on someone can lead to a horrible slippery slope when it comes to people's rights in general.

11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?
We should stop all nuclear weapons programs and reduce/eventually eliminate our own nuclear arsenals. But yes, in the case of Iran in which political and religious tension in that region is explosive and very, very clear, we should stop any proposed nuclear weapons program. That said, nuclear energy is a different issue that often gets embroiled in the nuclear debate- I think a state that genuinely pursues research or use of nuclear energy should be allowed that. Not saying that Iran necessarily is one such state for obvious reasons, but that taking away all faculties towards peaceful nuclear research when our own nuclear weapons arsenals are still HUGE and still exist? Or in the case of Iran or other countries in that region, when the consensus is that Israel is allowed (and very likely has) nuclear weapons? Nope. Hypocrisy is not a good color in international relations.

12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?
Through what means? Militarily, no, unless in obvious instances where North Korea launches a nuclear missile or declares all out war and demands a response. But very simply opening a dialogue between the rest of the world and North Korea, I believe, is a means of liberating the people of NK. The people there should be a primary concern.

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?
Hell yes.

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?
^see above. Although the word 'marriage' itself and its association with religion is problematic. I don't think it should be involved in legal matters. Civil unions for all in the eyes of the law, everyone else can call it whatever the hell they want to.


29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?
No. No. No. I think the controversy over Wikileaks should be about government lies and its subsequent manipulation of the public, not over in revealing it. State secrets are another issue. Wikileaks has brought disgusting realities to light. It's not responsible for their existence.

30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?
The U.S. government, of course- in relation to its other spending. I'm pretty much ignorant about *most* other countries and their allocations of defense/military spending.

31. Should the government make stronger efforts to stop illegal immigration, especially from Mexico?
NO.

34. Should the United States create a North American Union with Canada? If so should we allow Mexico to join?
Uh...Mexico is part of North America too. What map are you looking at, lol? 😵

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?
No. Not up to the government to decide what's appropriate and what's not.

36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?
No. Opinions are opinions. Sometimes unfounded, sometimes hateful. But to criminalize them? Wtf, no.

On the subject of criminalizing similarly unfounded, horrible opinions, let's also make sure people don't deny the oppression of Native American/indigenous cultures of other countries, and that people don't erase their historical genocide and murder. Except oh wait. That'd involving punishing just about everyone in modern Western society, as well as nearly every Western government...whoops. Can't have that. *rolls eyes*

42. Should church and state remain separate?
Yes. But countries should not police other countries for it. Looking at you, U.S. If people want to keep church and state separate in their own countries, that's fine. I'm for that in the U.S. But they can't try to enforce that ideal on everyone. I feel intersection of religion and government can be/is very oppressive, but it's up to the people in their own country to decide to change that. Their own oppression and their own controversy=subject that can only be resolved through their own empowerment.

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?
Of course. No question of "allowing" it or not. Not when the public doesn't think twice about building a church or other religious institution there. Islamophobia is un-freaking-acceptable in my book.

44. Should the government offer free healthcare?
Yes. Free healthcare to people who are below the poverty line and cannot afford it. I'm for universal healthcare, but that's not technically "free" if people pay taxes and subsidized fees for it, so I guess I'm unsure of what this question is asking...?

45. Should the government offer free college/university education?
They should at least offer more subsidies, reasonable student loans, etc. I know in a lot of European countries education is already not super expensive or is free, but in the U.S. it's what, 40k USD a year for a private university? Ick. Public universities are much cheaper if you live in-state, but it's hard to compare private and public in terms of quality, student teacher ratios, etc.

There are great financial aid plans and grants available, sure, but most are available only to a few groups or people that do not account for concerns of people who are not considered working-class but who also cannot pull 40 thousand dollars a year out of their butts. I don't fault or resent those who do receive those benefits, however. I've just got issues with how the system subverts concerns of those who fall in between the poor and rich. Especially when the cost of education is so absurd without adequate subsidies or grants.

46. Should tobacco be made illegal?
No. Let people make their own choices. Tobacco should be restricted and issues of secondhand smoke or environment should be addressed, but criminalized? No.

47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?
^Basically see above. Also, let's check early 1900's U.S. history for some trial and error in that department, lol.

50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?
No. Most people don't know how to make informed political decisions, to be honest. That's the product of living in a society of commercialized corporate media and government manipulation of facts. But making informed political decisions is not a social obligation exactly. Heck, it's a privilege. Not everyone has the luxury or access to education to do so.

55. Should Julian Assange be tried in court for sexually assaulting (and raping) women and for releasing top secret government and military documents to the public?

If the charges are legitimate, hell yes. I'm in support of Wikileaks, but if he's a rapist, sorry, he doesn't get automatic sainthood because of his work. The timing of the rape charges is unfortunate and worthy of discussion, but dismissing them entirely because of that is wrong. There are potentially REAL victims here. They shouldn't come second just because this guy is famous or popular.

61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?
They can exist, but I'm sure as heck not promoting government employment. Especially when there aren't adequately defined restrictions of their rights.

64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?
YES.

65. Should Guantanamo Bay become a US state?
Uh, it's kinda physically a part of Cuba...😛

66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?
No. No. No. What is this question's purpose?

Also, I'd like to suggest that imperialism isn't over. While we are not actively and openly going out and colonizing other countries, the effects of imperialism and imperialist attitudes are still very much real, and it serves the same purpose: subjugation and discrimination.

 

[Username]

I understand if you don't want to debate. But in the same time, when you aren't giving any valid arguments about why you feel this way and still decided to state it it just comes off as discriminatory.

Valid arguments? ok, one: Aisha.
That's a valid argument to me, the fact that Muslims consider their prophet Muhammad to be the greatest man that ever lived even though he married a 6 year old girl when he was almost 50 and had sex with her when she was 9.

 

[mayfever]

I'm not going to answer all of the questions because some of them don't apply to the political system I live in (I'm not American).

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?
Not prohibit but very, very strictly limit. I simply cannot believe how people can look at the statistics regarding gun-related accidents and still insist that their personal freedom to pursue a hobby is more important than preventing accidental deaths. Yes, I agree, people are stupid and in a lot of cases the victims only have themselves to blame, but that does not outweigh the fact that some people have to be protected from themselves. If necessary, by law.


2. Should Marijuana be legalized?
Yes, definitely. With the same restrictions that already apply to alcohol and tobacco. It causes less harm than alcohol, and the only reason that it is not already legal is because it is difficult to tax because people would grow it in their back yards.


3. Should the death penalty be abolished?
Yes, abso-f***ing-lutely. I cannot stress enough how strongly I feel about this issue. Not only do I believe that it is fundamentally wrong to take another person's life because you can't give it to them either, again, to me that is God's job, but we don't even have to start a religious debate to see that for an enlightened person, there are NO arguments that speak for capital punishment. Aside from the fact that it's racist and sexist in practice (I'm not sure about the exact numbers, but I read something along the lines of 80 per cent of the people on death row are black males), it has been proven over and over again that it does not discourage people from commiting whatever crime they chose to. (That's kind of the basic idea of crime - not caring about the consequences of one's actions, or thinking one will get away with it). If anything, the crime rate in states where capital punishment is still in practice is higher than in those where it isn't.


4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?
No.

5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?
No. We made the mess, now we can't just f*** off and leave the people to sort out our mess for us. Reduce the troops gradually and bring in development workers.

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?
Legal, with mandatory counselling for every woman who wants to get one.


7. Should stem cell research be legal?
Legal but supervised.



8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?
Difficult to say. They are a danger to innocent lives, so they have to be supervised and controlled, but at the same time they suffer from a psychological disorder/defect and with the sex drive being what it is (namely the most primal driving force within us human beings), they often can't help their behaviour. They definitely must be registered (although the data must NOT be publically accessible, go watch the movie "Little Children" if you don't agree) and imprisoned if they assault someone, but we must not forget that they are poor buggers who also deserve our sympathy. There should be programmes and campaigns (like [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtE0L3UUaKI]this German one[/ame]) to help prevent incidents in the first place.

Oh, and I'm well aware that I would be singing a different song if somebody hurt a kid that I love. Which is why I'm incredibly glad that that's not the case, because these things have to be seen less emotionally.


11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?
If you tell me how, I'm all for it.


12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?
[sarcasm mode on]Sure, because it worked so well the other three hundred times we tried that with an aggressive regime.[/sarcasm mode off]


13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?
Yes, in form of loans and with close monitoring and cutbacks on manager salaries. It doesn't make sense to pump millions into struggling banks and suchlike if all they do is pay their bosses bazillions in bonuses (boni?) with it.


14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)?
I'm all for a mixed economy.


15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?
Yes. It is a crying shame that that has not already happened everywhere.


16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?
See question 5.


17. Should gay marriage be legalized?
Deffo.


29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?
I'm not sure. I'm kind of thinking it should, but then I'm definitely a defendant of the freedom of the press. I should read more about the topic before I decide on an opinion.


30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?
Not if it means spending less money on the rebuilding of Afghanistan and Iraq.


35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?
HELL no. What will become of us if the government does the thinking for us? Shouldn't people be allowed to form their own opinions?


36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?
Freedom of speech does, alas, include the freedom of stupid people voice stupid opinions. It also includes the freedom of clever people to ignore the stupidity of stupid people and form a clever opinion on their own.


37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?
It's definitely a good idea, but I don't think that would work in practice, at least not in the USA. Americans have other ideas of how their taxes should be spent than Scandinavians and internet access is not a necessity.


38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?
yes.


40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?
Maybe not 13-year-olds. But why not at 15? Young people should be more involved in political discourse, because a lot of the laws and bills that are passed affect their lives more than that of the average octogenarian, and it is very arrogant to assume that young people are not interested in politics. The reason why they appear not to be is because recent politics exclude them and decide for them without listening to their opinions.


41. Should the drinking age be lowered to at least 18?
I don't live in the US so this technically doesn't affect me (I was allowed to drink at 16, well beer and wine anyway), but I'm gonna answer it anyway with a resounding YES. From my experience (I lived in the States for a while), all the kids drink anyway and as always, outlawing something does not eradicate a problem. How are people supposed to learn how to drink responsibly if they have to hide that they do it at all?


42. Should church and state remain separate?
yes.


43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?
Maybe not next to Ground Zero, because that would be unnecessary provocation and would upset a lot of people. But in general, I don't see the problem with mosques. They are just as pretty as churches, and if it helps the Muslim part of the population to feel more integrated - why not? You don't have to go there if you don't believe it it.


44. Should the government offer free healthcare?
Another resounding YES. Again, I can't understand ANY of the arguments against it. To me they just sound like "I don't care about other people and I don't want to share".


45. Should the government offer free college/university education
YES! And if you insist on seeing it from an economic standpoint: Imagine the unused resources that go to waste if people who cannot afford college fees don't realise their full potential!


46. Should tobacco be made illegal?
I'm leaning towards yes because I can't see any benefit from it, but then again, it doesn't work that way.


47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?
no.


48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to its citizens?
Again, people are stupid and sometimes secrets are necessary to avoid misunderstandings.


49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?
After a while.


50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?
YES! Information can never be bad.


51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?
I'm a little puzzled that school uniforms should be mentioned in the same sentence as corporal punishment, but I'll answer anyway. Beating is ALWAYS wrong because it is DEGRADING and doesn't help one bit, but the benefits of school uniforms are hard to argue with. I went to boarding school in England for a while and we had traditional uniforms, and we weren't allowed to wear make-up or to leave our hair down. I found it immensely freeing that I didn't have to agonise about what to wear every morning, and while the bullying that went on at my last school if someone didn't look the accepted version of "cool" wasn't exactly a non-issue (you could still tell who the rich kids were and they still made all the rules), it was a lot less noticable than I remember it from my school in Germany where we didn't have uniforms.


52. Should we allow weapons in space?
Why the heck would we?


53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?
Hell yes. I think it's kind of ridiculous that they still refuse to, while most other "important" countries except China, India and Indonesia are already members. What makes the USA so special that they should not be held accountable for the many abominable things they have done over the years?


54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?
I don't think so.


56. Should NASA work harder to accomplish goals such as making first contact, building space ships, and colonizing other planets?
I don't really care, to be honest.


57. Should NASA set-up a colony on Mars using their proposed one-way trip system?
*shrugs*


58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?
Oh f*** yes.


59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?
Nuclear power should be used NOWHERE because it is DANGEROUS and OUTDATED.


60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?
No, because they don't have the same responsibilites either.


61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?
No, because "private" equals "economic interest" and wherever that comes into play, things get muddled and good intentions are lost.


62. Should the government and military work to help stop and prevent genocides, civil wars, and other atrocities happening around the world, such as in Africa?
Yes, definitely, but not by using force. Genocides, civil wars and other atrocities happen where people are poor, undereducated and oppressed, so the government should send development workers, i.e. doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers... to crisis regions and help the people to help themselves.


63. Should research into cloning be conducted?
Yes, it does not make sense to restrict research.


64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?
Yes, it is a screaming injustice and an insult to every free citizen of the world. However, since we can't just chuck the prisoners out and leave them to their own devices, measures need to be taken up that they can go back to their communities and resume a relatively normal life. If that turns out to be impossible, the government is obliged to assist them in any way possible. Also, torture victims need to be financially "recompensated" (I use the quotation marks to indicate my conviction that no amount of money can undo the injustice that has been done to them).


65. Should Guantanamo Bay become a US state?
No, silly, the Cubans want it back.



66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?
[sarcasm mode on]yes, because the population would like that so much and the US haven't done quite enough damage with their acquisitive foreign politics.[/sarcasm mode off]


67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?
No, because the different countries, nations, ethnicities and people of the world are far to diverse to ever be justly united under one government.

 

[Tome]

Ok... Some of these questions are completely nonsensical, but I'll give it a shot.


1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?

No. Just restrict it.

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?

Yah.

3. Should the death penalty be abolition?

ABSOLUTELY yes!

4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?

No, wtf?

5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?

Well considering I'm from Canada... You can probably guess my opinion on that. They shouldn't be there in the first place.

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?

Legal as long as it's not past 20-24 weeks.

7. Should stem cell research be legal?

YES!

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?

Simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender. Again, it's not for us to decide if someone should be killed, whatever crime the person might have commited.

9. Should the police get money directly from tickets or should ticket money be put in with other government spending?

Neither.

10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?

Lol, wtf? 😱

11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?

If that is even possible...

12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?

The US need to stop thinking they're the big saviors for every other countries... Let them fix their own problems.

13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?

No.

14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)

I'm mostly for mixed economy.

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?

Yes. That shouldn't even be a question.

16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?

Yes. Should have been done ages ago.

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?

I'm not a big fan of marriages. I'm kinda tempted to say that only civil unions should be recognized, but then... I don't like the idea of taking away the choice for people who are religious and believe marriage is the way to go. Anyway, as for the question, I vote yes. But then, I don't get why they would wanna be united under a religion that despise them in general? Doesn't make too much sense to me.

18. Should we recognize the independent nation of Kosovo?

Huh?

19. Should we recognize the independent nation of Azerbaijan?

Huh?

20. Should we recognize the independent nation of Jonathanland?

Huh?

21. Should we recognize the independent nation of South Ossetia?

Huh?

22. Should Puerto Rico become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

No comments.

23. Should Guam become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

No comments.

24. Should American Samoa become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

No comments.

25. Should the US Virgin Islands become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

No comments.

26. Should the US Minor Outlying Islands become US states, become and independent countries, or remain US territories?

What's up with all these questions?

27. Should we make Iraq a US state?

LOL?

28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?

Again, what?

29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?

No way. F/$% censorship. Isn't it a country that claims to be for freedom above all else?

30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?

Yes. Too much money put into it...

31. Should the government make stronger efforts to stop illegal immigration, especially from Mexico?

No.

32. Should citizens of the District of Columbia be granted full voting rights?

Huh, yes.

33. Should New York City become it's own state, an independent country, or remain part of New York?

LOL! I laughed at the 'independent country'.

34. Should the United States create a North American Union with Canada? If so should we allow Mexico to join?

No.

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?

Again with the censorship... No.

36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

Freedom of speech, anyone? Even though these are delicate subjects, you cannot take away that freedom when you feel like it.

37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?

Oh yah. Not that it's gonna happen for a while. 😛

38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?

This is risky. I wouldn't want this to turn into what is happening in China.

39. Should the government shutdown 4chan, just /b/, or neither?

Lol, wtf?

40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?

No.

41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?

Well, here it has been 18 since 1972. And 19 in Ontario. So yea, I think it should be lowered in the States.

42. Should church and state remain separate?

Freaking yes.

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?

Sure, why not?

44. Should the government offer free healthcare?

Definitely for poor people. Actually the US should have the same kind of healthcare we have here in Canada. 😉

45. Should the government offer free college/university education?

That would be great. But, I understand why it's not possible EVERYWHERE. I think the government should help those who have money troubles to get better education, though.

46. Should tobacco be made illegal?

No.

47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?

Rofl, no.

48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?

I'd generally say no. But in some cases it's probably better that not everyone know about some things. Panic, anyone?

49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?

Depends what documents we're talking about.

50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?

No. Parents should.

51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?

Wtf. This is the dumbest Q you asked. NO WAY.

52. Should we allow weapons in space?

Hmm, no.

53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?

Yes. I don't get why they're not part of it yet.

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?

No way.

55. Should Julian Assange be tried in court for sexually assaulting (and raping) women and for releasing top secret government and military documents to the public?

Yes for the first part.

56. Should NASA work harder to accomplish goals such as making first contact, building space ships, and colonizing other planets?

They're working hard already, and I think there's too much money spent on that. We should fix the shit that goes on on Earth before thinking of ''colonizing'' other planets...

57. Should NASA set-up a colony on Mars using their proposed one-way trip system?

No.

58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?

Yup.

59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?

With care, sure.

60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?

First of all, 18-19's here are considered adults, so this question doesn't make too much sense to me. But if I just take 13 to 17... It depends what rights/privileges we're talking about.

61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?

Not certain on this.

62. Should the government and military work to help stop and prevent genocides, civil wars, and other atrocities happening around the world, such as in Africa?

This is a touchy topic. I don't think the military should be involved too much. But overall, I'd say yes.

63. Should research into cloning be conducted?

Definitely yes.

64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?

Yup.

65. Should Guantanamo Bay become a US state?

Huh?

66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?

Lol, hahaha, that is a good one.

67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?

I don't really like this idea, but it'll probably come at some point in the far future.

 

[xfivebyfive]

I'm not going to answer all of these because its a ridiculously long list. Also not sure I want to get in to a debate like in the last thread.

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?
I think it should definitely be restricted, there needs to be tighter control on who can buy guns.

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?
No.

3. Should the death penalty be abolition?
Yes.

4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?
It depends, I think for the most part video games aren't too terrible. However I don't play the extremely violent ones. I think parents should be regulating what they allow their children to play.

5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?
Yes.

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?
Legal.

7. Should stem cell research be legal?
Yes.

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?
No. I'm against torture of any kind. Yes they should be imprisoned and registered as a sex offender.

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?
Of course.

16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?
Yes.

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?
Yes.


33. Should New York City become it's own state, an independent country, or remain part of New York?
Lmao New York City should be its own country just cause were that awesome 😉

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?
I wouldn't say anymore then they are now. I mean I think sometimes they censor too much but I think censorship isn't a terrible thing.

36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?
You can't make an opinion illegal. Thats trampling on the first amendment.

41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?
Yes, If you can die for your country at 18 why do you have to be 21 to drink?

42. Should church and state remain separate?
Yes.

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?
Yes. Why the hell not?

44. Should the government offer free healthcare?
Yes.

45. Should the government offer free college/university education?
Yes. I don't care if it means raising taxes as long as the money actually is put to use.

46. Should tobacco be made illegal?
No, but I don't really either way.

47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?
No.

48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?
Ideally no, because then they could keep secrets about whatever they want. But sometimes its necessary to protect the public.

51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?
These are two completely seperate issues. Should corporal punishment be brought back? No. Should schools force kids to wear uniforms? In my opinion no but it's not the end of the world if they do. Its definitely not on the level of beating children.

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?
Consent for sex?? Definitely not!


60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?
Well past 18 they are an adult. 13 - 19 is a huge range. I would say to no to 13-16 but 17 and up theyre practically an adult.