friendship and politics

After my "end of the world post", I got an e-mail from my geek friend (the one that sent me the LHC link). Actually, the link he sent me was a rap made at the LHC facility. In his e-mail response he says; "I'm still dizzy. From "Hey, here's a funny geek video." To "O-Ba-Ma, O-Ba-Ma" in four paragraphs." And, to prove that all of my friends are not liberal whack jobs like me, I will include this link he sent to me http://www.bobbarr2008.com/.


Okay, I'll fess up, that didn't start as a political post, but that's where my mind took me. Can't help it, tis the season, and I am a bit passionate about the results of the election. I believe that four more years of eroding the Constitution will do irreparable harm to our country. Be forewarned, this is going to be a political rant, and it will probably be disjointed and rambling as well. I have a lot of thoughts on the matter and they don't always occur in a sequential way.


Let me state up front, I am an Obama supporter. I believe that he can implement the changes that need to occur in the country. I believe that he will uphold the Constitution, something that hasn't been done for the last eight years. At the very least, he will be able to stem the tide of fear and power grabbing that we have seen under the Bush administration. That said, I will admit, that early on in the primaries, I was impressed by Ron Paul. I did not agree with everything he stood for, but I believed that he wanted to protect and preserve the Constitution. I believed he was honest and knowledgeable concerning foreign affairs and the economy. I think that the Republicans would be in a better position today, if they had payed attention to his powerful grass roots following and his common sense approach. But, they didn't, they made him out to be a maverick and a joke. Although, he is a Republican office holder, he is really a Libertarian, and many of his views reflect that. My views are far left of his, but I might have supported him if he won the Republican nomination. I am not willing to back a third party candidate. I believe that the two party system needs to be changed. I think that the public needs more of a choice. Progress is severely limited by partisan politics. However, that is what we have. I know that there are more than two recognized parties, but the others simply do not have enough clout. I admit that my attitude reflects one reason why another party cannot become a serious contender in the political scene.


I think this will be a close election. I worry about the Democrats' ability to get out the vote. Many of Obama's supporters are part of demographics that do not regularly vote. The conservative Christians still have a lot of political influence. They may not be fans of McCain, but his choosing Sarah Palin is an attempt to lure them in. I hate the election years and the campaigning. Too many lies and smears and double-talk. The more I learn of McCain and Palin, the more they scare me. I believe that, if elected, their administration could be worse than Bush and Co. ever was. I was hoping that this campaign would be different. I was hoping that the voters would be so fed up, they would see through the lies and demand the truth. I was hoping that the state of the economy and the endless war and massive military budget would prompt people to become informed. I was naive. Even in the light of the recent billion dollar corporate bail-outs (which included huge pay-outs to the CEOs that grossly mismanaged the companies), many voters still do not see the need for a change. Many Americans still view the world from a fear based, hegemonic, ethnocentric mentality.

I am appalled that, as a nation, we still have the idea that the United states should continue to extend the scope of its power and influence over the entire world. This continuing idea that Manifest Destiny and expansionism is our right and our purpose, even when we cannot care for our own nation and its citizens, is outrageous. Whatever happened to the idea of getting your own house in order first? Beyond that, why do we have the right to impose our views and our culture on the entire world? In light of all that has occurred in our country, how do we continue to believe that we are "the city on the hill"? The truth is this whole ideology is a thinly veiled attempt to promote capitalistic ventures and hold economic superiority. Yet, much of our national debt is owed to China and our government continues to spend at phenomenal rates. As a nation, we are bankrupt, both economically and morally and we are headed for a rude awakening. Change will occur, we can either vote for a change or be mercilessly swept away by the tides of change that are going to inevitably rush in. Either way, we ain't seen nothin yet.