interesting comments about voting from linux maker

[ruffryder]

Linus Torvalds, who will forever be known as the father of Linux, is set to become an American citizen.
The Finland-born programmer in the past has never expressed much enthusiasm for obtaining citizenship, despite living in the U.S. for at least a dozen years now and currently residing in Portland, Oregon with his family.
It seems the main thing that's driving Torvalds to grab that extra passport is so that he can play a part in the voting system. Without being a citizen, he's unable to vote – and that's one thing that he's always craved.
In a blog post he wrote almost two years ago, he said, "So I'm a stranger in a strange land, and seldom more so than when voting season is upon us.

"Most of the rest of the time I can kind of ignore it. … But being reminded about not being able to vote is actually the much smaller thing: much more than that, election season reminds you about what an odd place the US is."
Torvalds continued, "That's when you also notice that the whole US voting system is apparently expressly designed to be polarizing (winner-take-all electoral system etc). To somebody from Finland, that looks like a rather obvious and fundamental design flaw. In Finland, government is quite commonly a quilt-work of different parties, and the "rainbow coalition" of many many parties working together was the norm for a long time. And it seems to result in much more civilized political behaviour.
"So you couple a polarizing voting system with a campaign that has to make simplified black-and-white statements, and what do you get? Ugly, is what you get.

"Most of the time I really like living in the US. But voting season sometimes makes you wonder."
With his criticism out of the way, he's ready to take part and help make a difference. He clearly understands that every vote matters, and he's taking action. In a message to a mailing list, he revealed that he was undergoing voter registration and socsec updates, now that he's a U.S. citizen.

I especially like this statement

"So you couple a polarizing voting system with a campaign that has to make simplified black-and-white statements, and what do you get? Ugly, is what you get."

Toms Hardware Link

 

[winter brew]

And yet he chooses to live in the US and participate in the "ugly" system. It must offer some clear advantages or he wouldn't bother with either.

 

[ruffryder]

And yet he chooses to live in the US and participate in the "ugly" system. It must offer some clear advantages or he wouldn't bother with either.

He has been here for 10 years or so, lives in Portland Oregon. I guess he would choose some other system to vote in the US, but there isn't one, and it seems voting is high on his list of citizen responsibility.

 

[Burndown1]

Like our system, or pack your bags . Simple.

 

[Snodawg]

Actually, his views are really not too far off. The election system that the US has is extremely flawed. Funny how the election winners are announced before the polls are even closed in the rocky mountain states, let alone the west coast. And how does someone become president by winning the electoral vote but not the popular vote.
Yes, I love my country and would fight for her in a heartbeat, but some things are really screwed up, such as Bi-Partisan Politics. Right Wing vs. Left Wing.

 

[ruffryder]

Actually, his views are really not too far off. The election system that the US has is extremely flawed. Funny how the election winners are announced before the polls are even closed in the rocky mountain states, let alone the west coast. And how does someone become president by winning the electoral vote but not the popular vote.
Yes, I love my country and would fight for her in a heartbeat, but some things are really screwed up, such as Bi-Partisan Politics. Right Wing vs. Left Wing.

thanks good post

Like our system, or pack your bags . Simple.

no thanks, dumb post

 

[dormanmj]

Sometimes I get really sick of hearing about how bad the US is, if this is such a horrible country, why are millions trying to get in? If this is such a horrible country, how is it that our standard of living is above and beyond 99% of the rest of the world? I'm really tired of being told that as an American I should tolerate everyone and everything, yet there is no tolerance for me here or abroad. Everytime I turn on the the tv, radio or read a newspaper I find out that I should be ashamed for working hard, paying my bills, treating my family with respect & just simply being a white christian american male --- now I'm reading about it on SW. Sick of it.

 

[ruffryder]

Sometimes I get really sick of hearing about how bad the US is, if this is such a horrible country, why are millions trying to get in? If this is such a horrible country, how is it that our standard of living is above and beyond 99% of the rest of the world? I'm really tired of being told that as an American I should tolerate everyone and everything, yet there is no tolerance for me here or abroad. Everytime I turn on the the tv, radio or read a newspaper I find out that I should be ashamed for working hard, paying my bills, treating my family with respect & just simply being a white christian american male --- now I'm reading about it on SW. Sick of it.

Maybe because as Americans, we continually strive to improve ourselves. Maybe as Americans we are constantly thinking about ways to do things better, using our ingenuity to improve our own situation.

Based on your comments above, I sure hope you don't say anything bad about our government and current administration...

 

[milehighassassin]

Like our system, or pack your bags . Simple.

Not really. Like our system or step up and be heard. The decision that change this world are made by those who get involved.

 

[Burndown1]

Not really. Like our system or step up and be heard. The decision that change this world are made by those who get involved.

Do you like our system? or is this your way of being heard? Change has really got us in a pinch. Obama.