Politics as Unusual
The Old Ceremony is playing two political benefits in the next month or so, one for Democratic Senate candidate (and former Clinton advisor) Erskine Bowles, and one for a general "get out the vote" campaign. This year has been the first time I've felt so strongly about a campaign in my life. I was watching the last one closely (and agonizingly) but this one I actually have been getting off my ass to do something. It just seems to me (and a lot of people I talk to) that this election is absolutely crucial in the future of our country (and the world). I've read so much political history and analysis about Nixon, Bush I, Reagan, and Clinton lately, and none of them did anything to approach the destructive and selfishly arrogant policies of this administration. I actually had to stop reading the NY Times every day because I'd get so upset before breakfast that I didn't know what to do with myself. After seeing Farenheit 9-11, I went out and got a stack of voter registration forms and came back to later screenings to register people to vote. I may be imagining it, but it seems like a lot of young people are getting more involved these days. Am I just getting old, or is that true? hmm....
6 Comments:
My personal feeling is that it doesn't matter who votes for who this election.
The Bush administration rigged one election. They can rig another.
Though it is pleasing to see more people getting involved, I only wish it had happened before it was too late.
Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see what happens. But if Bush wins this time, I don't see how anybody could believe it's not rigged. I don't know a soul who supports him.
i find it odd that bush leads the polls. like kitkat said, i don't know anyone who supports him. personally, i find the politcal muckracking so offensive that i can't support either bush or kerry.
it does seem to me more young people are getting involved because of programs like rock the vote and the one the world wrestling whatever-it-is-now. of course, i'm getting older, too. still i can't get over my gut reaction to politics in general and remain unregistered. i suppose my decision not to vote is a much a statement as those who do vote. no matter who wins, things will be bad. kerry/edwards doesn't possess a magic wand to fix our broken nation and chances are, they'll do their own brand of damage. perhaps i'm not so much getting old as growing far more jaded.
i used to have the "i disapprove of both candidates, so i'm not going to bother voting" attitude... so much so that i admit this is the first year i am actually voting... and it is not for nader despite the fact that i think kerry might have his own brand of bull. But that is the problem with most-liberal minded folks... we disagree so much amongst ourselves... we are so disgruntled that we decide to divorce ourselves from the process alltogether or our votes are skewed by voting for the 3rd party "on principle" event hough we know that nader (for example) has no chance winning. republicans count on our apathy because even if they disagree on gay rights or abortion issues, health care regulation or tax cuts, they band together and vote... do you know that republicans financially support nader to take votes away from kerry?
the thing is - regardless of how we feel about the platforms or the personalities of the politicians involved - the rest of the world thinks bush is a demon (or just an asshole at best)... and they are waiting for us to vote him out of office... to redeem ourselves... they see him as a usurper/dictator... not everyone believes that his policies speak for the american people...
considering: the growing violent negative sentiment towards his administration - the recent talks about taking a "unilateral approach" to anti-terrorism (concerning for example iran and korea)- bush's refusal to review the expired assault weapons ban - we are in deep crap here...
and if we let him get reelected - the rest of the world is going to think we endorse his policies, foreign and domestic...
and that can only make the US a less safe place to live.
we need to prove to the rest of the world (those who hate us, and those who are undecided, and even those who usually support us but who think our judgment is faltering) - that we think it's time for a change... any change and a new face to represent our nation that doesn't reek of arrogance and death.
so please vote with your head in november... not just your heart... but please please please register now... you have till october...
http://action.rockthevote.org/ctt.asp?u=906306&l=4190
okay i'm done preachin'....
it's definitely easy to just become disaffected and think it doesn't matter who you vote for. or, i should say, it WAS easy before this bush administration made such a clear case for how different a bush or gore administration would have been.
at this point, though, it is absolutely crucial that we all get out there and vote for president (and senator, representative, etc) in this election. whether or not you find kerry personally compelling, the irreversible effects of another four years of bush are staggering: the environmental damage of his corporation-controlled "environmental" policies; a further stacking of the federal (and eventually, supreme) courts with right-wing religious conservative activist judges who will continue seek to overturn a number of our basic civil liberties in favor of a fundamentalist christian and/or neo-conservative corporate checklist; a worsening of relations with not only our enemies (who grow more numerous and polarized every day) but with our few remaining friendly nations who have weathered the past four years of shameful u.s. foreign policy in the hope that the citizens of america will eventually set the country back on course for a peaceful partnership with the rest of the world.
not voting is an active choice. it's a choice to hand control of your future (and your families' future) over to those who have their own interests (or the interests of their wealthy corporate donors) at heart, not ours.
I still stand by my statement that it doesn't matter anymore because this election will be as rigged as the last. However, I will say that I think it's ridiculous that we are stuck in the two-party system. I know very few people who can 100% get behind a candidate. In countries that have 5 or 6 different main parties, there is an AMAZING voter turn-out. The numbers are stunning. So what's wrong with us? Why are we stuck with only two choices? People don't want to vote because they don't want to merely choose the lesser of two evils. With more parties in the running, perhaps people could really get behind someone and feel GOOD about voting. There's just something oddly unappealing about choosing someone to run the country just because he's not as bad as the other guy.
the reason we only have two political parties and a smattering of independant parties is simple. money. not as much of an issue in countries where no one has any, but here, where some people have too much and some have too little, that's what it's all about.
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