悠悠子乔
看山仍是山，看水仍是水
自从有投票权以来，我从来没有缺席过任何行使公民权利的机会，而且总是不遗余力地游说我的朋友们去投票。我一直认为，投谁是选择，投还是不投是原则。可是今年的总统大选，我要做一件严重违背自己的原则的事情——我决定放弃我的一票。
一边是令人深恶痛绝的政治正确，空洞的政治口号，虚伪的政客，肮脏的政治交易，越来越左的liberal言论。2004年，奥巴马在民主党全国党代表大会上发表了令人耳目一新的演讲，当时让我激动不已，把他看成一个充满政治理想和治国理念的政治新星。在经历了布什八年执政带来的战争，金融危机，失业，贫富差距日益扩大之后，我幻想着奥巴马会给美国带来一股振兴改革的清风，我满腔热情地两次投票给奥巴马，希望自己不仅见证的是美国历史上的第一个黑人总统，而且是一个能把美国带出衰退的伟大的总统。可是奥巴马八年执政给我们留下了什么政治遗产，巨幅增加的国债，族群分裂，非法移民泛滥，耗费巨资又漏洞百出的医疗保健系统，几近破产的社会福利系统，日渐贫穷的中产阶级。我承认，奥巴马是一位有政治理想的领袖，可是美国现在最不需要的就是左派乌托邦式的 Democratic Socialism 理想。
另一边是令人无法信任的，粗俗，傲慢，无知，无原则，无道德底线，无治国方针的政治投机者。在对民主党彻底失望之后，我是真心实意地想投共和党一票。可是共和党党内极右势力嚣张，狭隘，内斗，各自为政，竟然推举不出一个像样的候选人。Trump 的出线，本身就说明共和党建制派不仅没有争取到温和共和党选民的支持，而且也已经被保守共和党选民所抛弃。
有人说两害取其轻，可是我没有那么高的智慧，能够判断这两害孰轻孰重。有人说选总统就是选最高法院法官，可是我没有那么远的眼界，能够看到坏总统和好法官哪个对美国的未来起决定性的影响。有人说美国是三权分立，总统没有绝对的权力，可是我没有那么大的信心，敢把核武器的按钮交到一个疯子的手上。
如果历史能重来……
1933年，德国人民因为不满魏玛共和体制的政治恶斗、民不聊生，听信了纳粹使德国强大和富裕的承诺，选择了希特勒，给包括德国人民在内的全世界人民带来了万劫不复的灾难。
1959年，古巴人民因为痛恨巴蒂斯塔的独裁统治，选择了卡斯特罗，开启了长达50多年的闭关锁国式的新一轮独裁统治。
2011年，埃及人民因为不满穆巴拉克的独裁统治下，公民缺乏自由选举权和言论自由权，政治严重腐败，失业率严重，低工资和高物价等问题，发起了“茉莉花革命”，选择了以穆斯林兄弟会为代表的民选政府，不到一年的时间内，就对新政府彻底失望，走上街头“二次革命”。
2016年，我选择“不选择”！God Bless America！
我的孩子也关心美国的选举，我的大儿子精英高中学生，性格温和，他就不喜欢Trump，觉得他是个无理的家伙，不知道他会给世界带来什么，他也不喜欢希拉里，觉得她是个liar.
我觉得谁入主都一样，美国的体系和体制就摆在哪里，个人能撼动体制吗？
美国在走下坡路，不管是哪个人当总统都是不可避免的。
问好子乔：）
1. 'mapletea' is one of the readers like you, so make sure you address to right person when you refute.
2. No sure I'm qualified as a "liberal", I do side with some of their values though, such as gun control, global warming. I actually vote Republican a lot, especially in state and local elections. Don't label people who you don't know, which makes you more ignorant.
3. Communism and socialism are different ideologies, I'm surprised you categorized Cuba and North Korea as the same socialism as France and Spain. They are not different doses of socialism, period.
4. My past experience in China teaches me not to be a racist and bigot, rather a good sense of judgement.
5. Not voting for either Trump or Clinton does not mean I won't vote, I have been voting more than any Chinese I know, won't make exception this time.
6. You can believe whatever you believe, judgemental and 盛气凌人 do not make your argument more convincing.
Another remark regarding the extent and degree of socialism.
You can see the detrimental effect on the economy of socialism in the form of absence of incentives in small scales even in the US: The government bureaucratic agencies, DMV services, US Postal Service and government subsidized union controlled companies like bankrupted GM, etc., etc.
Let me make one more remark regarding your objection with me using English.
Did you not write English in your Blog? "God Bless America". Well, what kind of America do you want to live in? An America in which one can not freely choose what language they use to best express themselves? I thought you were a liberal, holding up high the sacred banner of ideals of multiculturalism and tolerance. Deep down you are instinctive resentful of anything out of the norm. You are immediately taken out of your comfort zone, all that brain wash notwithstanding. Now your true color got exposed when you encounter a real situation. Is that right? Wow, where does the political correctness go? How does it disappear so fast? What irony and hypocrisy! I suppose you do not see it. It is precisely this kind of liberal hypocrisy that had most Americans fed up and catapulted Trump to his candidacy.
I wonder why you would not answer my question. Notwithstanding, I will answer your questions one by one. I hope you would reciprocate (out of courtesy).
1) Yes, I have not only been to China but have lived in China, and as a matter of fact, was born in China.
2) I can post in Chinese. Are you asking me if I am capable of writing Chinese or why I choose to write in English? How is this relevant to the topic we are discussing? I can tell you I choose to use English since it is so much easier to type in English rather Chinese. But I do not have to any reason to choose to do so, so long as what I choose fits my purpose. My purpose here is to communicate ideas to you and to others. Apparently you and others have no problem comprehending English --- otherwise you would not have understood what is happening with this election in the first place. But is this a problem for you? Are you asking me why I do not do what most other people do, why I do not follow the norm? Are you asking me why I choose to do something different from others? Do you even prefer I think like most other people do, preferably like you do? Even considering norm, it is abnormal to use Chinese in the US --- you are living in the US, are you not? --- considering Chinese being a small minority. So this route of logic does not stand. So the question to you is, what purpose does your question serve?
3) I knew you were going to use the examples of Denmark, Sweden or other European countries. The socialism are all the same. The only difference is the extent or quantity of it. These examples only serve to prove my point. It is not unlike taking any poison, say, cyanide. The harm is proportional to the quantity you take. The economic growth, science and technology innovations do not come from these Scandinavian countries with small doses of socialism, even including Canada. Also the Scandinavian countries have the lucrative oil revenues to keep them afloat for quite some time to come. I wonder why you cherry pick your examples, not mention France, Spain and Greece. They have the same or higher doses of socialism and look where their economies are now. The countries with the highest doses have all died including the last stand Cuba, except North Korea still gasping on its last breath.
4) Yes, I am very ignorant and maybe quite biased. I am more and more aware of my ignorance as I keep learning and observing. Bias is inevitable as one can only draw conclusions from the limited observations and experience. Ignorance and bias is a matter of life. Are you boasting you are not ignorant and unbiased? Then you are omniscient, thus you are God. I wonder why you choose to abstain from voting. In fact, you should be on the ticket, being the Messiah. To counteract my ignorance, I try to make observation and learn from the failures of others and oneself. Nothing can save one from denial and deliberate self-inflicted blindsidedness. You seem to stubbornly bury your head in the sand. You try to erase the memory of life in socialist China in the more distant past. In the nearer past, by your own admission, you were disappoint with Obama's first 4 years, but chose to ignore that and still voted for him for the second time in the hopes things would somehow miraculously change.
I am sure you have seen the following quote before, but I will post here since there is nothing more apt. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
如果你承认美国在下滑，那就只能选川普。
The electoral-vote system made our votes meaningless unless you live in these swing states. We need to change it (so or later).
我想说明两点 ,第一，请不要混淆communism和 socialism，这是两个完全不同的概念，况且我本人也并不赞成socialism；第二，不选Trump，不完全是因为他的人品低下，更主要的是因为，他那种无法预测的、无原则的、可能会把美国带进灾难的行事风格。
nightrider, can I ask you if you have been to China or lived in China? Can I also I ask you why you can not post your comment in Chinese as most of others? You think Obama and his socialism is the same as Xi and his predecessor's socialism? How about Denmark and Sweden or even the neighboring Canada? What about their socialism! I think you are either ignorant or biased.
As for the current election, the problem with Hillary is that she will sure lead US further down the bitter path of socialism and history has shown she has no qualms of trampling on the law of the land; while the problem with Trump is mostly with his morality and his political incorrectness. Which shortcoming is much more dire than the other? Is that now obvious?
管仲千古贤相，也有瑕疵。不投票是在两难选择中作懦夫般逃避，居然还自为标榜，以示清高。
http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/currentevent/849763.html
BLM天天骚乱，
恐袭经常不断，
男人进女厕所？