I am bored. Bored, bored, bored. Now with the elections over, I don't know what to do with myself. Other than my job. And where's the fun in that?
One thing that is keeping me busy and motivated is responding to genuinely stupid statements in the media about the meaning of an Obama presidency. If I could just get paid for that, well, I'd finally join the 2 measly percent in the nation that qualify for "redistribution of wealth" (i.e, taxation, or, rather, a return to the level of taxation of the pre-Bush II years) under an Obama administration. Wow! Just imagine! I, who will probably never earn that level of income in my lifetime--I'm not an aspirational plumber after all--could join the monied class and have the full attention and support of the next Republican administration!
Anyway, there have been so many examples of raging stupidity in the media, from pundit and populace alike, I am at risk of getting a repetitive motion injury, snapping my neck quickly toward the TV to see Joe Scarborough make another asinine statement. From Wednesday's MSNBC broadcast, in response to a weathercaster talking about the fine weather we're enjoying this November in certain parts of the nation: "Under an Obama presidency, you'll never be able to use a phrase like 'Indian summer' again, because things will be so PC."
Just how much does this buttwipe get paid to be so ignorant on national TV? I mean, I know he was in Congress and all that, so he's used to saying the dumbest things imaginable in as loud a voice as possible, but still, Joe, maybe it's time to rethink your career path.
Or the choking fit that is induced when I hear statements from the media that the election of Barack Obama to the presidency means "the end of racism in the United States."
Dude, give me a freakin' break. Tell me, did you go to college for a degree in journalism? Other than where Sarah Palin got her degree in journalism, I mean? Or did you just whip up the diploma in Word and print it out in color at your local FedEx Kinko's? 'Cause that is one seriously stoo-pid statement.
And if the neck-twist and choking don't get me, the carpal tunnel will from pouncing on my keyboard to respond to the latest invective from some crazy (I'm assuming), middle-aged (I'm assuming), white guy (I'm assuming), with a DSL or cable modem (I'm assuming), has posted to some blog or comment forum. (Just not this crazy, middle-aged white guy, OK?)
For example . . . this little missive was posted today on CNN's Politics website:
To all the Dems:Oh, goodness, where to begin when confronted with so much seething, oozing dumbassedness? How could I not respond to this? The poster is just crying out to be sent to a Socialist Reeducation Camp, which I'm sure will be the first order of business under a new Obama administration, being that he'll have nothing else to occupy his time, other than political correctness and uniform thought. By the way, that's a joke, right wingers. The Socialist Reeducation Camps don't open until the *second* Obama term.
[H]ere is what separates Republican's [sic] (at least me) from you guys. Yes, I wanted McCain to win, but he didn't, and so, my President is Obama and I will support and pray for him. This is exactly what Elizabeth on [The] View is doing. We lost - we get over it and we move on for what is good for the country.
Instead, you left wingers are berating her for changing her opinion. She didn't change her opinion - she's moving on. Something you can never do. You'll never get over the 2000 loss and you'll always be angry hateful people.
Republicans blew it by allowing Bush to become like a Democrat and spend us into heck, but that is going be corrected in 2012. I wish Obama the best and pray he'll get good advisors [sic] and for this country. I will not wallow in anger or frustration or blame anyone - it is over. It is time to move on. It is time to get our country rolling again and at this point it doesn't matter who is at the helm. So stop with your anger and join the club. Country First.
And, so, here's how I responded:
Dear [Poster],OK, so maybe I'm not as genuine as I pretend to be. I have absolutely despised the last 28 years of mostly Republican leadership in the executive and legislative branches of American government. I think it's been nothing more than the promotion of ignorance, mean-spiritedness, selfishness, and stinginess, over any authentic attempt to address national and global problems. I do think taking some tax revenues and putting them toward social services and public initiatives is the way to go--whether the initiatives involve education, the economy, housing, transportation, poverty, the environment, healthcare, what have you.
You're not angry? Or wallowing in frustration? You're moving on? Really? Jeez, you're already focusing on 2012, and President-Elect Obama hasn't even been sworn in yet. You're blaming Democrats for the Bush administration's problems and mistakes (he wasn't a real Republican, but a "secret Democrat"). That doesn't sound like calm acceptance to me.
I'm admittedly a liberal, although I wouldn't classify myself necessarily as a "left winger" or even a Democrat. I make decent money but certainly not the $250k per year that only 2 percent of the U.S. population makes, or even the $100k+ per year that maybe 20 percent makes. Still, I don't begrudge those who do--I just want my voice to be heard, my views to be as respected, and my needs to be considered as theirs have been over the last few decades.
I am very happy that Obama was elected but not because I think it redresses being "wronged" in the 2000 election. Frankly, I could care less about that at this point. I was no supporter of George Bush (l lived in Texas through both his governorships and didn't really think much of him as a leader or a visionary; a failed property tax initiative does not a leader make). While I may never have liked having him as president, I thought he handled the immediate aftermath of 9/11 quite well. I probably could have tolerated him as president throughout his terms, the will of the people and all that, except for a series of unfortunate events that occurred on his watch--namely, the war in Iraq, the 2004 election, and Hurricane Katrina.
Why those events in particular? Because his administration used soldiers and citizens as pawns in some egotistical, arrogant geopolitical maneuvering (my father was a Marine for 30 years; I'm sensitive to this); his campaign eliminated serious public discourse on the issues and problems that plague us with name-calling and fear-mongering among the electorate; his administration--and many, many people, along with the Louisiana state government (a Democratic administration at the time, not a Republican one)--allowed millions to be spent on "homeland security," yet couldn't manage to come up with an effective evacuation plan for a known death trap like New Orleans in a hurricane (or even Houston, for that matter).
So, as a liberal, I'm not bitter about the 2000 election; I'm angry about 8 years of failed public policy, of thinking that government is not for, by, and of the people, but instead for, by, and of monied interests and narrowly focused cultural groups. Heck, I'll take it a step further back--I'm anguished over years of this from both the Democratic and Republican sides. It's a sadness and a frustration that transcends time and party.
Despite my liberal leaning ways, I suspect that I'm not that far off the mark from a lot of Americans. I'm sick to death of the binary approach to life and politics in this country, the tit-for-tatting of Republican this and Democrat that. What I want to see--and why I voted for Obama--is our nation move beyond blaming each side for past grievances. Instead, I want to see someone address those grievances and get us all to get along well enough to work together to return our nation to doing our best work and being our better selves, both at home and abroad.
I do not care whether a Republican or a Democrat does this. I do not care whether it is a he or a she, a liberal or a conservative, a "tax and spend"-er or fiscally conservative, right wing or left, straight or gay, black or white or both or neither. I just want someone who will help us turn our attention back to what matters--looking out for each other and for our world.
There is no other reason to have government than to do these things for everyone we can. It doesn't mean doing the exact opposite of the last few years and creating some sort of dependency culture. (May I suggest you read The Audacity of Hope? Even Barack Obama doesn't support this.) It does mean moving things back to the center so that we encourage initiative, help us all find the tools we need to succeed, open up opportunity, and make things better for as many as possible, not just half or a quarter or 2 percent of the electorate.
Now *that* is what I call moving on . . . that’s what I call putting country first. I hope you'll join me in doing so, whether you like having Obama as president or a Democratic Congress or not.
You can call that socialism if you like, although I'm not sure I even know what that means anymore. However, I like to think of it as good, responsive government.
I do mean sincerely that I do not care who offers good, responsive government, Republican or Democrat, Green or Libertarian. If John McCain had offered that kind of campaign rhetoric, rather than the kind that focused on Obama's "difference" or "mystery" or "secret agenda" or "un-Americanness," who knows? Maybe I would have considered voting for him. I don't think the Democrats have a monopoly on good government; in fact, I have plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. I do think, however, that their presidential candidate was the only one who seriously talked about issues, plans, and a vision for the people of this country and the world at large. I also think that traditionally, between the two major parties in the U.S., the Democrats are the ones who tend to address issues of bettering society and people's lots--albeit often ineffectively. I don't consider trickle-down economics an honest attempt at social welfare and progress. Shocking, I know.
Oh, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck? I think she's just trying to save her job at this point. But I didn't go there because I didn't think it was particularly germane to my argument.
How I wish someone would pay me to tell stupid people to shut the hell up. I'd promise to start with Joe Scarborough, first, move on to Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and save Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck until I was really warmed up.
How, too, I wish I were as patient, kind, and generous of spirit as I pretend to be.
Yeah, the two wishes do kind of cancel each other out. So what's your point? You want a piece of me?! I'll take you and your little blog posting to the floor, punk!
No comments:
Post a Comment