Some Rain For The Parades
A year ago, I was a committed Democrat. Today, though there’s still no question about whether and for whom I’ll vote, I don’t think there’s a partisan argument from either side that I find very persuasive. I thought I was going to be more jubilant at this point, with a truly inspiring, once-a-generation Democratic nominee facing off with the most entertaining implosion of a campaign the GOP’s run in my lifetime. There was supposed to be pitchers of Schadenfreude, filled at a giant, bubbling, multi-tier Schadenfreude fountain and served into chilled Schadendreude steins by a busty blonde St. Schadenfreude waitress. But I’m just not feeling it.
So I thought I’d share some of the thoughts that are getting my attention these days, but I’ll put them beyond the jump for those that would rather not do that to their beautiful minds. Respect.
From The Art of the Possible (via IOZ):
I hardly count as a libertarian most days any more, but listening to the infantile drivel at the RNC tonight and watching speaker after speaker attempt to goose America’s hindbrain, I’m seized with two thoughts: 1) Hey, it might work! It’s worked before; 2) We hand out almost indescribable power as a result of this contest.
…Shouldn’t any system that rewards and results in such proudly precognitive slavering be sanely restricted in its scope and sweep? Shouldn’t we, indeed, try to figure out how to do without it?
And from the IOZ post quoting the above…
I’m certainly tired of the fierce conviction of every political partisan that he is going to fix America. Take it back. Make it better. Faster. Stronger. Whatever. To the questions: what are we going to do? what are you doing?–I’m proud to report: not a damn thing, and as actively as I can. This is especially true in the realm of national politics. The Democratic Convention, with all its post-Kennedy raptures about worlds safe for democracy and men on the moon and chickens in every pot was bad enough, but I dare you to watch the vicious spectacle in St. Paul, the mewling chorus of creationist morons worshipping like Spielbergian Thuggees at the alter of destruction, and contemplate that they represent a full 50% of your countrymen, who haven’t even the decency to require circumspection from their empire of death, and tell me that what this nation–this world–needs is more elections.
And another from IOZ that resonates as well:
The truth is that the adherents to and proponents of all political ideologies are the heirs of and aspirants to totalitarianism–the left was soft on socialist tyrannies and the right on fascist ones. At the root of political ideologies is the desire to rule, and the desire to rule obliterates ideological distinctions ever more quickly as it begins to achieve its desired ends. The idea that one or other politics is most prone to tolerating authoritarian government is mere chauvinism. No corner of the political spectrum is inherently more limited in its aims than any other.
On a side note, if you’re not reading Who Is IOZ?… well, y’oughta be. It’s the kind of writing that the internet was meant for, dark, whimsical, thought-provoking, well-crafted, but probably not the kind of thing you’d be able to get from a print publication.
Anyway, so does this mean that I’ll be fruitlessly (and somewhat comically) seeking an Anarcho-Libertarian organization to join anytime soon? Nah.
But I will say this: neither Democrats nor Republicans seem like they’re prepared to take up the interests of the people they seek to represent. No one from either party can speak publicly about decreasing our military presence around the world, decry the militarization of our municipal police departments or the fact that our jails and prisons are state sanctioned institutions of torture, or honestly deal with the fact that the clock’s running out on our opportunity to take the appropriately drastic steps required to avert a host of environmental catastrophes (to name just a few Big Problems no one wants to wrastle).
I mean, Jesus, how is it that Joe Biden, MBNA’s man in the senate and one of the prime movers of the odious Bankruptcy Bill of 2005, is feted and cheered as the Vice Presidential nominee by the so-called party of working people?
And so, it sure seems like the method by which this person or that is chosen to look after the needs of corporations, defense contractors, and the wealthy isn’t the biggest issue we have to deal with, ya know? Or, to riff on Carlin, what good is it to have We, the People elect our Government when We, the People are ignorant, selfish, bigoted, vindictive assholes?
You think that’s a strong statement, too strong maybe? That America’s really not all about that?
I hope you’re right, I really do.
Tags: bad policy, creeping authoritarianism, electioneering, journamalism, politics, reap the whirlwind, stupidity
