George Carlin:
Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens.
This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. '
This is why we get Trump, and this is why we get Biden. From the same Reddit thread and the parent comment to the above Carlin quote:
I mean, your point is valid for sure. Bernie's supporters certainly are quick to pass the blame around -- it's the polling station closures, it's biased media coverage, it's Clyburn's endorsement or Warren's lack thereof. And those things certainly are valid to point out and absolutely have an effect on the election, just as it's fair to point out that Sanders himself could and should have done many things differently and that young people really do need to vote in greater numbers.
But I think most people would be very unhappy if Sanders supporters put the blame where it truly belonged. Because the real problem with America is, and always has been, the quality of its people. We talk a great deal about making D.C. a state, or packing the Supreme Court, or ratifying the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, or implementing ranked-choice or proportional voting. But the truth is that none of those things will help because none of them address the root cause of our current situation. The truth is that there is no system of government ever designed, nor could one ever be created, that could survive and prosper with a population as arrogant, stupid, selfish and short-sighted as the average American.
Donald Trump is not an anomaly. He didn't appear suddenly, he was born here, and lived here his entire life. He made a fortune selling tacky, overpriced, gaudy junk -- and Americans bought it, and elevated it to a status symbol. He grifted, lied, swindled and stole -- and the American justice system enabled him and empowered him. He said shocking, disgusting, horrifying things -- and our media gave him a megaphone. And he did everything possible to demonstrate that he was a stupid, petty, arrogant and cruel man unfit in every way possible for any office in existence -- and a nation of stupid, petty, arrogant and cruel Americans turned out in droves to propel him to the highest office in the land. Trump is the real American. He's our boss, taking credit for our work as he angles for a raise; he's our grandfather, sighing in disgust about "kids these days" before passing out drunk on the couch, he's our grandmother, who thinks that women are too emotional to be president, he's our father, who knows nothing about economics and speaks confidently on the subject, he's our mother, who votes based on what she saw in a campaign ad; he's our brother, who doesn't look for a job but is convinced he doesn't have one because of "the illegals". He's our friend since childhood, who sometimes makes comments about "the Blacks" -- and he's us, when we remain silent instead of calling him out.
Democrats are eager to point out Clinton's victory in the popular vote, but they never stop to consider that the election should have never been close. They blame the Russians for fanning the flames of hatred and division, but they never ask why those fires were alight in the first place. They talk about "what's practical" while propping up an economic system that crashes every seven years and has failed the vast majority of those under its dominion and sneer at anyone who points out these obvious facts while advocating for alternatives. They answer questions of morality with words like "pragmatism" and rage against anyone unwilling to compromise their ethics. And they vote for an arrogant, loudmouthed, senile buffoon, a liar and a plagiarist who promises to return them to a blissful imaginary past while looking down on Trump supporters for doing precisely the same thing, albeit to a different extent.
And then they criticize Sanders for "not actually being a Democrat", when in fact that's his primary appeal. The truth is that Sanders didn't compromise enough to build a coalition -- because in order to build a coalition in America the compromises you have to make are moral ones.
Then again I voted for that other billionaire, I already forget his name, because I was worried about Sanders getting his ass kicked in November, so perhaps, and man I'm really stretching my belief muscles here, Democrats put that much thought into voting for Biden. I mean I doubt it. I believe they just remember Old Joe when he was with Obama and those were pretty good times, but ya never know.
- Doc