and unfortunately no one is really susceptible to posters of Uncle Sam beseeching people to have more babies for the good of the nation anymore
But why? I mean, at some point, there is a limit. Unless we start colonizing other planets - and then, there's still a limit.
I'd agree there does have to be a limit, but that's another topic of conversation.
The only thing I'll say about it is that yes, there does seem to be evidence that as economic security increases, populations go down, the resulting economic issues being of the things we spoke about earlier.
But given that the population is only decreasing among those nations which
already have economic security, one does have to wonder how much cultural erosion will occur in those nations before it truly takes effect globally.
It's one thing to say global populations will go down eventually so there isn't anything to be worried about in terms of overpopulation, but it is another to contemplate which cultural influences will have majority representation by then.
...We just have to face facts and deal with reality. It's not easy, but too bad (...and...) Anyway, it will be interesting to see what the future holds. Even the near future. Particularly in Germany and Sweden.
I think this is one of the reasons for disillusionment with left-leaning European governments, at present, and also for the rise extreme right-wing parties - and extreme right-wing dissent becoming more evident.
The theory is that representative democracy is supposed to be... well,
representative, of the majority at least. The issues really begin when that government is perceived as being not really representative of a clear majority any longer.
Political parties come into power often on the back of many policies, not just one. It is quite possible to vote for a party on the strength of supporting one policy while disagreeing with another, by way of example.
There is a sizeable chunk of the population in Europe (alone) who no longer feel represented. Merkel's party was re-elected after the introduction of that policy, but it becomes clear that it was
not on the back of her open border policies. There was a significant upsurge in support for the Greens, the AFD, and the Free Democratics.
From that, one might determine something of importance - that there was a considerable backlash against the CDU's free border policy is not really in dispute.
The dispute, rather, came about more as a result of the voting public not being united as to how that discontent should be demonstrated, with a specific reference to right-wing anti-immigration parties
not being seen as the right way to go, in spite of at least some sympathy in that direction.
Effectively, in splitting support for anti-immigration among several parties as a result of varying degrees of distaste and a clear unwillingness to risk voting for the extreme opposite, Merkel was re-elected.
I might even go a step further and say that intelligent voters are being under-represented, in that the system, as it stands, actually worked against them - with regard to that one policy.
At the
very least, one might assume the German government would pay attention to that. But they do not appear to be doing so.
As you said: The attitude seems to be one of "Too bad". It is creating some anger, isn't it?
Yet the left will continue to hold it up as an example of support for Merkel and the CDU.
The result? Open borders continues as a policy. This isn't what the voting public desired, necessarily, but it now serves as confirmation to those who implemented it and those who support them in it, and eliminates any notion of erring on the side of caution with regard to immigration... for another few years at least.
Concern over what is "going to happen during the next few years" is a reason for much anger, resentment and resignation.
I'm sorry BillyT but this is absolute bullshit. If you think refugees are too f*cking stupid to know better than to rape, then I really don't know what to say. Refugees DO KNOW it is not legal or appropriate to rape children and young girls. They're not animals. Your post sounds as if they have no agency of their own. They're humans. Some are good people. Some are bad people.
I should have paid this more attention a few days ago as well.
I do agree with you that there are many ostensibly supporting the left who buy into the whole "white man's burden" argument without really being aware of it, or without paying too much attention to any potential consequences.
Many came to Germany specifically to rape, buy prostitutes and to sell drugs.
But
this is where you're going to lose them. Scare tactics do work, but you need to understand your audience.
They're more a reinforcement for an already-existing opinion, than a counter-argument.
Starts to look a bit like McCarthyism in the fifties, when you resort to that.