i admit it. This election is consuming me. It is four in the morning and i'm up reading political editorials and playing my regular cut and paste game. i wish i could be cynical enough not to care. That would at least free up approximately two hours a day that i spend reading news reports and watching Democracy Now! Also, that would most likely squelch the feeling of impending doom lodged in the pit of my stomach at the thought of a McCain/Palin presidency. This should not be new to me. i thought i was going to rip my hair out (the little amount i'm holding onto) when Bush was re-elected for his second term.i seemed to have survived that. i can think of a number of other human lives that literally have not survived his second term. Some of old age. Some of "collateral damage" and the like.
It's not that i think Obama is the ideal candidate. i do like him a lot better than i ever liked Kerry. Today, while listening to my audio CD of The Audacity of Hope, i felt like Obama was my friend. i don't ever want to feel that again. That is a bad road to go down, full of blindness and an inability to properly criticize and object to inevitable policy blunders. Plus, politics are simply semiotics, right? You are always voting for the abstract idea of a person. The rags to riches charismatic candidate versus the maverick. Change versus change (now they really have me confused. i understand dealing with one change candidate, but two!)
But, i must divulge, an Obama/Biden ticket does give me some hope. It gives me hope that i might get health care (something that has been a little bit out of our 11,000 dollar a year income). It gives me hope that more attention will be given to our severely flawed social services. i understand that Obama will have to maneuver through a corporate-owned system, which will be highly regulated by the Democratic Party monster, but maybe he can make some changes, right? Bush made some. Can't we make changes for good too? Perhaps.
i wish i could have substantive hope. i wish political slogans and propaganda worked on me. That could free me of my incessant desire for "facts." i think i'll probably live if McCain is elected. i don't think it will be easy. In fact, i can't help but think that it will royally suck (insert preferred suckable thing here). i did sit through a Hannity rally. i also sat through a Cheney commencement speech at BYU and felt completely disenfranchised from my religious culture. The crowd did cheer louder for Cheney than President Hinckley. That was pretty repulsive. Then again, a couple hours isn't really comparable to four years, is it? And, of course, there is the whole war thing. Oh, and the fact that i can't think of anything in the Republican platform that i agree with. Don't blame me, it's not my fault. It's not that i want to disagree with everything. i even think that's a bit narrow-minded. Maybe it is due to life experiences, an engrained worldview, or my type of education. What am i expected to do when, in my heart and mind, i disagree with the Republican conception of economy, social issues, values, the war, guns, political tactics, energy, etc?
One incentive of McCain winning: i think that The Daily Show will be funnier. i'm sure Obama will provide sufficient absurdity from time to time as well, but it won't be the same. Downside of him winning: Umm, refer to previous paragraphs.
To clarify, i absolutely think Obama will make a slew of mistakes if he is elected. i'm excited for the possibility of new mistakes. Even a change of mistakes will suffice. Also, won't it be nice to have a President that can speak English well again? i guess that's the elitist in me, but i do appreciate a slick sentence here and there. If they contain truth and substance, that is an obvious bonus, but not completely a prerequisite for my aural pleasure. Okay, i'm babbling. i'm done.
i could move to Thailand, but let's be honest, they have their own problems.
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