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American Politics: A Dish Gone Cold
By David VanThournout 07/11/04
Some dishes may be best served cold. Politics however is more palatable piping hot.
I've heard so many none voters over the years claim as their main reason for
their lack of participation; that they would only be voting for the lesser of two evils. To them,
it's just an exercise in futility. This is also a favorite reason cited for
voting outside the current two party "republicratic" system.
Plato suggested; "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
It has also been said;
"Democracy is the device which ensures the people will be governed no better than they deserve." -George Bernard Shaw--
In reality the fact that far too many Americans have had far too little to do with our country's direction for
far too long has been
instrumental in leading us to this unhappy state of affairs. A plate of cold politics.
My advice? Don't wait so long to take your first bite.
If all the apathetic in America chose to vote I would trust them far more to make better choices than our present "leadership"
which could be argued (in light of the present debacle in Iraq) couldn't lead it's way out of a wet paper bag.
Now John Kerry has expressed a desire to reach out to conservatives;
"I'm going to talk to people on the right," Kerry told The Times on Friday during a joint interview with his vice
presidential pick, Sen. John Edwards. "I want to talk to conservatives."
This has left quite a few progressives feeling a little cold about John Kerry.
I hear some among the left shouting that we should be able to vote our hopes (Ralph Nader?) and I agree, we
should be able
to.
But the honest truth is that in voting for Kerry/Edwards we are voting our hopes.
For the last 3 and a half years the Bush administration has played to America's basest fears frightening us into a corner
from where we have lashed out not only against an invented enemy but our very
own people, our own constitution and bill of rights. It was recently suggested that if we tried to pass the bill of rights now, no one would sign it on the senate floor.
Recently the bill of rights was turned into a petition (the title being removed) and of 102 people approached only 2 would
sign the petition. They said it was too radical. 54% of Americans believe that celebrities should not be allowed to voice their opinions through the media.
We are a society cowed and hiding behind the flag.
There is even talk amongst the Bush crowd of suspending
the November election because of impending terrorist attacks. (no kidding!)
[2]
Alternatively, at the very core of the Kerry / Edwards campaign is just the opposite of that. Hope. Hope for healthcare, hope
for the environment, hope for education, hope that the Bush administration won't fill two seats in the supreme court. hope
hope hope. More hope than George W, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove would know what to do with.
By no means am I saying that John Kerry is perfect. In fact, my being an extremely progressive liberal
probably guarantees that John Kerry and I have plenty to argue about. Heck we might only agree upon ten percent of our
issues! But that is
still 100% more than the criminals who hi-jacked the white house and I agree upon!
Our hope in November, is that we will live to fight another day and that John Kerry will at least staunch the flow of blood
from the quite nearly mortally wounded democracy the Bush administration has left
America with...
So chow down folks! You know what they say; "You
can't have seconds if you don't clean your plate. Remember that old saying our
parents used to like to lay on us? "There are people starving in China?
(and Iraq, and Guatemala, and Haiti and Malaysia and....) Well... there are some really
hungry people here in America too. So by all means, vote your hopes in November. I am! Contact
the author at DVanThournout@thedeprogrammer.com �
: TheDeProgrammer.com
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"Crow" VanThournout
Editor,
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