Allow me to put this another way, since some of you seem to think I'm trolling - which I am not.
The USA and the UK are now very old nation-states by historical standards. So is Italy as a matter of fact, and point in fact: Italy's political environment was conducive to the creation of the Mafia. The UK and the USA also provided political environments conducive to the creation of their own versions of Kleptocracy (or Corporatocracy if you prefer). The forces of a powerful few controlling the nation's political rule displaces the function of democracy. Thus, the USA once started out as a thriving democracy, but without safeguards in place to protect the democratic nature of the democracy, and what has happened is that democracy hasn't been diligently protected throughout the decades/centuries (and in particular the decades after WWII), and therefore has shifted away from democratic rule in favour of Corporatocracy.
I gave the example of electoral reform here in Australia as a positive example for democracy, though much more still needs to be done to protect democracy in this land of course. My point of course being that like other areas in which Australia has literally lead the world (mandatory seatbelts, tobacco control, etc), electoral reform is another and to me - as someone who values democracy - it is unthinkable in this day and age in a modern developed democratic society not to have mandatory voting by citizens (FYI the penalty for not voting is $20- or you can provide a valid reason), and not to have preferential voting. And there are indeed different approaches that can be taken within those two core aspects of an electoral system, but they are in my view absolutely necessary. They are as necessary to democracy as a courthouse and a gaol are to law and order.
The USA and the UK are now very old nation-states by historical standards. So is Italy as a matter of fact, and point in fact: Italy's political environment was conducive to the creation of the Mafia. The UK and the USA also provided political environments conducive to the creation of their own versions of Kleptocracy (or Corporatocracy if you prefer). The forces of a powerful few controlling the nation's political rule displaces the function of democracy. Thus, the USA once started out as a thriving democracy, but without safeguards in place to protect the democratic nature of the democracy, and what has happened is that democracy hasn't been diligently protected throughout the decades/centuries (and in particular the decades after WWII), and therefore has shifted away from democratic rule in favour of Corporatocracy.
I gave the example of electoral reform here in Australia as a positive example for democracy, though much more still needs to be done to protect democracy in this land of course. My point of course being that like other areas in which Australia has literally lead the world (mandatory seatbelts, tobacco control, etc), electoral reform is another and to me - as someone who values democracy - it is unthinkable in this day and age in a modern developed democratic society not to have mandatory voting by citizens (FYI the penalty for not voting is $20- or you can provide a valid reason), and not to have preferential voting. And there are indeed different approaches that can be taken within those two core aspects of an electoral system, but they are in my view absolutely necessary. They are as necessary to democracy as a courthouse and a gaol are to law and order.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
