don't give up
I will be so damned happy when the election is over.
I sincerely hope that this is not really true, but it is possible that the sensual barrage that we all experience in these seasons, in the form of radio and TV ads, billboards, pop-ups on the internet, and, lest I forget the most obnoxious and insidious of these assualts, the recorded telephone message, may actually be intended to wear us down, to subliminally encourage us not to vote, simply by making us sick of the whole damned thing. The effect of such an effort might be to weed out the undecided voter, shaping a race or issue into a contest of who can get the most committed votes out.
I, like many of you, am pretty alarmed at the way election issues are handled by the media and special interests, (including the major parties). There is no discourse, no nuance or sense that this proposition or that was the product of much deliberation, or that it is limited in its scope to avoid an overly broad solution to a narrow issue, (or vice versa). Everything is a crisis. Everyone is a hero or villian, depending on who is doing the telling (or shouting as the case often is).
There is a situation emerging in Colorado where a nationally known evangelist has been accused of hiring a gay prostitute for sex numerous times over the past three years. Is this disclosure politically motivated? You bet it is. First, the accuser has said that he is trying to illuminate the hypocrisy of the evangelists positions on gay rights. But that may not be the entire story.
Whether you agree with the preacher, or disagree and to whatever extent, consider that this sudden revelation may be intended to negate the appeal of the GOP to some of its constituency, or possibly to diminish the power of that party to persuade in these last few days.
As conservatives or liberals, libertarians or independents, our reaction should be this:
So what?
Whatever this fellow may or may not have done, (and this is a story that will get LOTS of play in the next few days-----the eventual resolution will be on page 96 on some slow news day), this has nothing to do with the war, with tax policy, or any of about a gazillion really significant issues. Let's get over the fact that one man has been called a hypocrite, (whether true or not), and get to what this election is about.
On a similar note, take a quick look at this entry from the Glen Greenwald blog. (Thanks JB, for posting the link). This is good for a pretty good laugh, but consider the ramifications of these speeches, (forget the facts--they are fairly irrelevant). The sole purpose of these presentations was to scare the voting base into line for the next week. The notion of the big lie as originated by a well known German despot, and perpetuated by politicians everywhere, has absolutely nothing on this operation. This is nothing more than a sand colored smoke screen. Keep lookin' for camel shit boys, don't fret the election...
Four days from now, we will settle some of these issues, (for a couple of days anyway). Listen to your heart, then let your mind have its turn. Spend five minutes in a mental quiet spot, justifying to yourself a vote for the candidate that you are not going to vote for. It sounds silly, but it is a surprisingly liberating excercise. It helps to clarify your beliefs, and the thoughts that you produce may be handy after the election, (the other guy just might win).
No matter how things turn out, resist the temptation of falling into a victory high or a defeat funk. There is another significant election in two years, and by that time you might find that the candidate that won is not all that he is cracked up to be. In all cases, be vigilant, and write to your elected rep's regularly, tell them how you feel and that you are watching.
Stay focused.
I sincerely hope that this is not really true, but it is possible that the sensual barrage that we all experience in these seasons, in the form of radio and TV ads, billboards, pop-ups on the internet, and, lest I forget the most obnoxious and insidious of these assualts, the recorded telephone message, may actually be intended to wear us down, to subliminally encourage us not to vote, simply by making us sick of the whole damned thing. The effect of such an effort might be to weed out the undecided voter, shaping a race or issue into a contest of who can get the most committed votes out.
I, like many of you, am pretty alarmed at the way election issues are handled by the media and special interests, (including the major parties). There is no discourse, no nuance or sense that this proposition or that was the product of much deliberation, or that it is limited in its scope to avoid an overly broad solution to a narrow issue, (or vice versa). Everything is a crisis. Everyone is a hero or villian, depending on who is doing the telling (or shouting as the case often is).
There is a situation emerging in Colorado where a nationally known evangelist has been accused of hiring a gay prostitute for sex numerous times over the past three years. Is this disclosure politically motivated? You bet it is. First, the accuser has said that he is trying to illuminate the hypocrisy of the evangelists positions on gay rights. But that may not be the entire story.
Whether you agree with the preacher, or disagree and to whatever extent, consider that this sudden revelation may be intended to negate the appeal of the GOP to some of its constituency, or possibly to diminish the power of that party to persuade in these last few days.
As conservatives or liberals, libertarians or independents, our reaction should be this:
So what?
Whatever this fellow may or may not have done, (and this is a story that will get LOTS of play in the next few days-----the eventual resolution will be on page 96 on some slow news day), this has nothing to do with the war, with tax policy, or any of about a gazillion really significant issues. Let's get over the fact that one man has been called a hypocrite, (whether true or not), and get to what this election is about.
On a similar note, take a quick look at this entry from the Glen Greenwald blog. (Thanks JB, for posting the link). This is good for a pretty good laugh, but consider the ramifications of these speeches, (forget the facts--they are fairly irrelevant). The sole purpose of these presentations was to scare the voting base into line for the next week. The notion of the big lie as originated by a well known German despot, and perpetuated by politicians everywhere, has absolutely nothing on this operation. This is nothing more than a sand colored smoke screen. Keep lookin' for camel shit boys, don't fret the election...
Four days from now, we will settle some of these issues, (for a couple of days anyway). Listen to your heart, then let your mind have its turn. Spend five minutes in a mental quiet spot, justifying to yourself a vote for the candidate that you are not going to vote for. It sounds silly, but it is a surprisingly liberating excercise. It helps to clarify your beliefs, and the thoughts that you produce may be handy after the election, (the other guy just might win).
No matter how things turn out, resist the temptation of falling into a victory high or a defeat funk. There is another significant election in two years, and by that time you might find that the candidate that won is not all that he is cracked up to be. In all cases, be vigilant, and write to your elected rep's regularly, tell them how you feel and that you are watching.
Stay focused.
posted by eccentric recluse at 1:35 PM
4 Comments:
I'd get more black vans if I told my house rep. I was watching them.
you get vans? I get choppers. you need to step it up son!
LMAO! Self-hating, gay, prostitute-hiring, drug-buying bible-thumpers! Oh, the irony!!! :D
Jon Stewart said it best...though I can't remember the exact quote so I'm going to paraphrase:
Regardless of whether or not these illuminations of conservative perversions occur during election time or no, the burden is on the conservatives to stop committing the hypocritical perversions...then they'll have nothing to fear come election day.
Post a Comment
<< Home