I agree with a lot of what you're saying there, but still have a hard time making that generalization, simply because I have to believe that there's still some good people that haven't let go of their morals running this country. Maybe that's my willful ignorance or blind hope in humanity. If there's not, then we're really screwed. And I don't profess to know of any, I can't claim I know whether anyone truly does. I follow events generally, not politicians. Trump makes it hard to ignore him though. I also agree that the corruption is likely a function of the environment they are in. It's become so common place, starts small, and gets bigger.

100% agree with term limits as well. I don't think those could be enacted fast enough. It seems people are much more willing to speak their mind and do the right thing when they aren't worried about getting re-elected. Goes for both sides of the fence, they're all swaying in the wind trying to get votes and those videos I posted are a good example of that. Limits would do a lot to get things moving in the right direction.

I also wholeheartedly agree on education reform. I don't think we could spend enough on education and you're right about it being a lot of the change we need. I think it's less about spending the time and money, but I believe a lot of the powerful people in our world don't want an educated general population, and while it may sound a little conspiracy theorist, it's harder to control and manipulate educated people. Not impossible, but harder. There's sound logic behind it, and I'm not claiming it's fact, just my feelings on the matter. I don't see any real excuse for the way we're doing it, and the lack of funding in some areas. I would love to see more focus on education, and more parents that care about their kid's future.

Tgo... PB... as much as I like a good debate and don't mind different points of view, they don't contribute anything of value, so I'd rather spend my time conversing with people who can maintain some level of rationality and civility. While I respect his right to post and believe what he wants, I also respect my right to ignore it and not feed it. And it bothers me when the liberal posters attack them too. I think it's senseless and just feeds into the hatred more. When I first started reading the forums again a few days ago, I fed into that hate hard, and I went down to that level, called them names, etc. in some anonymous rep. So I get that I likely won't be able to get through to them, because as soon as I did that I alienated them. That's all that happens when we spew hate. So it's best for us to just not have discourse. I reflected a lot on it, and it made me realize how systemic and easy hatred has become for us. While it wasn't a normal behavior for me, I did it and I regret it and I own that.

I honestly have a hard time seeing much good Trump's done, and the hate and divisiveness surely outweighs it in my eyes, and definitely makes it hard to see any good at all. Not to mention the environmental regulations he's rolled back... we can only hope people do the right thing in that regard without the regulation, but we know that's unlikely. I also can't find any respect for a person who has no problem lying thousands of times. It's one thing to mis-speak, and when something comes to light, you admit you were wrong. It's another to lie and assert your statement as truth even though it is verifiable that it is not true. I just don't think anything Trump could do could redeem himself in my eyes as a respectable person, but I also know I can't predict the future and everyone is capable of change, no matter how far gone they may be. Graham, Barr, etc... I still think there's some hope for them, but I'm honestly not counting on it.