Originally Posted by
aja_christopher
Claiming someone isn't your greatest foe doesn't mean that they aren't your foe -- likewise, they can quickly become your greatest foe by interfering in your elections, hacking your Congress' emails, and doing all of this in coordination with a candidate that they have chosen in an effort to subvert democracy both domestically and on a global scale.
Again -- we can't have this "debate" as it's based purely on speculation. I you want to assume that all of the Russian interference is just a "democratic plot" to subvert Trump, then so be it: more facts will come to light soon enough, I'm sure.
With regards to immigration, we already discussed that during the matter of the child separation -- I told you that I supported the bipartisan plan agreed on under Obama which increased border security while allowing for a path to citizenship. You started bringing up "open borders" repeatedly, which pretty much ended said conversation.
Education is too complex an issue for me to get into right now -- just know that I've both attended many schools as a kid (military brat) and taught at many different schools as a "substitute": I both lived and taught in suburban, rural, and inner city areas throughout my life as well as overseas in Europe. I've also attended both private and public universities post-graduation so my perspective is based more on direct experience than what I read online or hear from others -- whether it's with regards to "race", immigration, or education.
My childhood (half of which was spent on a military base) was largely multicultural and crime and poverty free but I know the effect that can have on others via close family members -- that said, I can see both the "conservative" and the "liberal" side in that respect. I have a lot of cousins who were just as smart as me in many ways -- teachers wanted to skip me from 1st to 3rd grade my first day in class -- but they lacked the proper resources and environment to put said intelligence to good use: it wasn't parenting (my mother never encouraged my studies) and it wasn't the proverbial "fatherless home" (my parents divorced before I was a teen and didn't stay in contact) -- it was more the environment than anything else.
When I wanted to read, I could go to the base library. When I wanted to game, I could (safely) go to the local arcade with friends. When I wanted some money, I could go bag groceries at the local commissary for tips -- that's what kept me out trouble more than anything else. I grew up with friends that were white, black, Latino, Asian and from other countries all throughout my life -- to me that's what America should be and I feel fortunate to have had that experience. Thus, Trump and the Republicans pushing a borderline openly white supremacist agenda while attacking the very foundation of our democracy goes against nearly everything I know as both as an individual and as an American citizen.
What I can say for certain is this -- Republican policies in the past have cost me my health care when I was injured on the job and couldn't get workman's comp, my unemployment benefits when I needed them most (post-Bush recession) right after said injury, directly threatened my civil liberties as an African-American male with policies such as "stop and frisk" and refusing to look into claims of discrimination both in our scholastic and law enforcement environments, they threaten the very environment with pollution and ignorant climate change policies, etc, etc, etc...
Like I said before, I really just don't have the time to go into all of the details -- just know that if you had the same experiences that I've had you'd see the Republicans in a completely different light.
Edit: Something I wanted to ask you in turn -- what positive do you think Republican policies are doing for our society by repeatedly attacking things like civil rights, gay marriage, equal pay for women, climate change, food and health care programs for the poor and a path to citizenship for people who were brought here as children -- and blatantly LYING when they do so?
Don't you realize that almost any argument you make for the Republican party's principles and ideals become somewhat invalid simply because -- for the most part -- they repeatedly (balanced budget, equal opportunity, individual freedoms, etc) fail to live up to them?