Surrealist gesture

Today may in fact bring about a definitive change which will violently shake America awake from its eight year nightmare. On the other hand, and just as likely, tomorrow will only solidify the extent to which this country is too far gone to be saved or remolded into anything resembling a democracy except through violent social upheaval on a grand scale. But my money is on nothing at all changing, really changing. If McCain and (shudder) Palin, lie, cheat, steal and defraud their way into office (or god forbid, actually win!) everyone will accept it. They’ll accept it when our planet is further destroyed through needless industry and corporate greed. They will accept the continued atrophy of their basic civil rights. They will continue to accept bigotry, racism and sectarian worldviews. They will accept economic free fall and robbery presented to us as unavoidable recessions and the necessary evils of having us bear the burden of loaning money back to the people who took it from us to begin with.

I’ve voted in every Presidential election since I’ve been able and only once, the person I voted for became President. I’ve watched two elections be shamelessly stolen by a corrupt dictatorship and I’ve been disgusted by the public’s laconic acceptance of their blatant, outright crimes far above and beyond simple voter fraud. Their crimes have been large and abstract, far too complicated to easily comprehend by anyone not willing to devote a significant amount of time to a large variety of topics… I understand, you’re tired, want to relax, be entertained, don’t have time between work and daily life… the problem is, they understand that also. In fact they manufacture it. Which brings up a good point, if they manipulate and control so much, what is the point of voting? Doesn’t that old saying ring scarily in the back of your mind and you cast your ballot; ‘if voting actually changed anything, they’d make it illegal’. Well the truth is, I don’t know. I do believe that, but also there is still a naïve hope in me that I’m just being overly paranoid. But in all reality, it is the most logical conclusion to arrive at. We know for a fact the voting system is broken, fraudulent, error ridden electronic voting machines change or delete your votes. Paper ballot are scanned by a machine and watched over largely by people, and as we know, people love to inject their personal beliefs onto others, so there is always the chance they’re ‘censoring’ what they believe is bad and in opposition with their personal political views. On top of all that we know, WE KNOW the GOP has stolen two elections already, shamelessly and outright. So what’s to stop them from doing it again?

It all seems so futile, but like some deranged masochist I keep asking for more, one more try… I hope that Barack Obama is elected, not because I agree with him on every topic, I’m about 70% in line with him though and sadly that’s the best I get. I’ve only got two choices, third parties are never going to come close to the white house, this is a strict two party system and it is indeed sadly antiquated, but there are no changes in sight, so we’re left with two people who, no matter how different they may be, are never allowed to be truly different. If they were they’d be lambasted and vilified. “If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; but if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.”

If nothing else though, I feel justified in my vote because I have voted for a black man. I proudly support the ideals, no matter how abstract and misguided they may seem, that this country is not condemned to the fate of not only acting as racists, but actually being run by them. I want a crippled, atheist, Asian woman for President next year who is pro-choice and pro gay marriage. Why are we so afraid of a non-christian , socially tolerant candidate; because the majority of our nation thinks with their irrational beliefs, they do not care for facts, they care for the simple designations which make them feel superior to other people. Which brings me to my final rambling pontification: Even if, by some miracle Barack Obama does get elected, how long will it be before he is killed? The crazy, religious right are the ones who shoot people, and they are the ones who hate him for no real, factual, coherent reasons, so it seems sadly inevitable. Then where will we be? We elected a black man and then we killed him for being black. That will indeed be the final straw that finally breaks my swollen little back and forces me to leave this crumbling, sinking ship of a country and never look back.

In closing, I simply ask that you take a deep breath and think about who you’re voting for and why. If it has to do with invisible gods and moral issues, try, just try to separate those issues from your candidate and look at what remains. there are deadly serious issues at hand that directly effect everything from our basic freedoms all the way down to the air we breathe and the water we drink.

AND REMEMBER, MOST IMPORTANTLY;

what politicians say they’re going to do shouldn’t matter much (unless it is something you strongly disagree with), what should and does matter in a politician is what they have done. All politicians say they’re going to do all the things they know you want to hear, yet very few of them actually deliver on their promises. If they tell you they’re going to lower taxes, don’t believe them, especially if they have a factual history of not doing so, etc. History is an important and powerful tool, we can utilize the information we have available to us and make informed and measured decisions.

Sorry for the disjointed nature of this little rant, I wrote it all at once without ever stopping to really consider the structure. I just needed to vent a little after witnessing the spectacle of the polling station this morning. Thoughts of all kinds are just randomly streaming through my head and getting all jumbled up with my emotions… I’ll try to write a more eloquent piece after the election results are announced.