Is it November 4th yet?

(Originally posted Oct. 27th, 2008)
One perk of Democracy is the unconditional right to not only vote, but to also speak our thoughts regarding all things politics, thus enriching the people around us in an open-minded forum of enriching discussion. However, our countries government has become less Democratic and increasingly Fascist (look up the definition and make the connection yourself). This thinly-veiled shift in policy has not only led to the fabrication of our supposed undeterred ability to vote (voter list purging, for one), but also our ability to speak in a manner not reflective of inbred cavemen. Many of us will believe any hot garbage we hear about any candidate, even the most outlandish of claims, thus encouraging many of us to prattle like idiots to whoever will listen.

To understand why it’s so easy for a select handful to perpetuate even the silliest of political muck, you have to understand the effect of the current administration on the bulk of the nation. We’re a simultaneously furious and panicky bunch of people. Prior to 9/11, there were no stories of the horrors of Darfur, chemical attacks over major cities, or Arabs wanting to kill you and your family. Since, the GOP has eternalized a system of keeping citizens in a position of isolation and powerlessness. They scared us into duct taping our windowsills, because the anthrax could be coming at any time. They strongly advise you call cops in the event of a suspicious box or bag on the street. They even gave national peril a color-coded system, so even young children can feel anxiety at all times. They have us mixed-up, a feeling that makes some people angry.

Now, that anger is being converted to a vicious malevolence that I hear being spewed at our current presidential contenders. And yes, face facts my conservative friends, the majority at that has been directed at Barack Obama. You know, the Arab one. The one that we can’t be sure was really born in America. The one with the socialist agenda. The one with the terrorist sounding name. Barack Hussein Obama, who, to the typical pre-programmed type, would sound Arab. And remember, the Arabs hate us and want to kill American kids. Of course, anyone with a shred of self-awareness would do their research and find that name to be very, very, Nigerian. Also, they may be surprised to find he’s not a commie socialist, has a pretty legit looking birth certificate, and, mindblowingly enough, Arabs don’t want us all dead. Seems sensible enough, right?

But where does all this vitriol root?  Well, it starts with an idiot holding a mic, which transcends to idiots with radios and TV’s, eventually arcing to wider crowds of idiots with enough panic and fear to believe any garbage they hear. It’s horrible. It’s ugly. It reflects poorly on us as a collective nation. When things like “terrorist” and “kill him” are screamed by idiots and received by other idiots, horrific things happen. It makes that fear in our stomachs boil over, and leads the most idiotic type to do the unconscionable, like drag Brandon McClelland via truck to the worst death imaginable, or maybe bomb a clinic, or even shoot a president three times.

We’re better than this. We’re supposed to be savvy, informed political minds. Instead many of us are willing to spew bitterness that only further divides us as countrymen, separating the reds from the blues. Look, it doesn’t matter who you vote for. I really don’t care. If Obama’s, McCain’s, or even Nader’s policies work for you, fine. That’s true democracy, I don’t care what you think and you don’t care what I think, and we can move about with our day. Just cast your vote and shut the fuck up.