Bone chillingly surreal! That's all I can say; I have been eagerly and foolishly anticipating the first presidential debate on Friday - now that it's gone I cannot say that I am satisfied. Of course, since I am not a complete moron my vote is meant for Obama - but I can't help but feel slightly sickened at the overall political view at this point.
I remember when I was a kid walking up to one of those old abandoned dark brown wood barns that litter the landscape here in lonely corners of the northwest. Something about those always looks very warm and, even though they stand as quasi-monuments to the hopelessness of permanence, they seem comforting. Their deep brown reminded me of the fur color from some of my favorite stuffed animals so reaching out to touch the wood held rich promise. As you probably know - this wood in these structures is generally not too healthy. Feeling that wood for the first time was confusing; it was wood, but it was not strong. It was brittle and crumbly. The wood was rotted from the inside - it had been built before the tools for millenial lifespans were in view. Even my little boy hands could pull apart this wood. These structures look solid from afar, but when tested the rot becomes apparent; quickly and shockingly.
As I watch more and more of our political process unfold this is the image that comes to mind. If I were to squeeze too hard at one of the supporting beams here I can very easily imagine it crumbling in my hand. It is fascinating that we are in the midst of a fundamental systemic crisis; a realignment which challenges the basic philosophy of our economic system and NO ONE is questioning whether capitalism is fundamentally flawed. Truly - our political leaders are only interested in how their sound bites play to voters, not whether or not thier ideas are connected to anything worth saving.
This rot is very deep. Sarah Palin is a wildly cynical reflection of how little respect John McCain and the Republican machine has for the principle that political leaders should be qualified to do anything other than be able to be able to talk mostly in full sentences and drape themselves in business clothing that matches the models hocking office furniture. The Republican machine is breaking new ground in our race to the bottom - but they are not to blame. They would not do this if it was not a true and tested means to the end they seek.
My support of Obama is still based on the hope that he really represents a possibilty that a relatively new but hopeful political outsider with real experience as a member a minority group in the United States could challenge the party machines at the 'systems' level. As the campaign goes on I have begun to believe this less and less. The Republicans party in this election is not worth serious consideration. Essentially a vote for that ticket is a vote in favor of a kind of shallow mean spirited empty hopelesseness that is a vote in favor of the characterization of the american voter AS a shallow mean spirited and hopeless reptile of consumption.
I want to be very careful here not to be misunderstood by my language. I do not mean to belittle ANYONE by calling them names. This is really how things look to me. I am sure that the folks that support McCain and Palin love their kids just like I love mine - and that they are fundamentlally sweet folks who hope the best for strangers just like I do.
I am not really a Democrat; but my politics are definitely liberal. I am mostly communitariam minded, but I have voted non-democrat in my life - I was even part of the Ralph Nader problem. This time around, however, if the Republican party wins the presidency in this election I cannot see how any serious thinker would interpret it as anything more than a surreal surrender of the American revolutionary spirit to the empty shapeless mass of technocratic, demographic-dissecting, modern vacuousness of suburban philisophical hopelessness and isolation.
This rot seems deep to me - but we are facing a real question here. Is this system with both of these parties worth anything more than the brightly painted clamshell airsealed packaging that the Republicans have stocked on the shelves; and what does it mean about us if we purchase what they are selling, open that package and do not notice that what we smell is rotten through and through?
I remember when I was a kid walking up to one of those old abandoned dark brown wood barns that litter the landscape here in lonely corners of the northwest. Something about those always looks very warm and, even though they stand as quasi-monuments to the hopelessness of permanence, they seem comforting. Their deep brown reminded me of the fur color from some of my favorite stuffed animals so reaching out to touch the wood held rich promise. As you probably know - this wood in these structures is generally not too healthy. Feeling that wood for the first time was confusing; it was wood, but it was not strong. It was brittle and crumbly. The wood was rotted from the inside - it had been built before the tools for millenial lifespans were in view. Even my little boy hands could pull apart this wood. These structures look solid from afar, but when tested the rot becomes apparent; quickly and shockingly.
As I watch more and more of our political process unfold this is the image that comes to mind. If I were to squeeze too hard at one of the supporting beams here I can very easily imagine it crumbling in my hand. It is fascinating that we are in the midst of a fundamental systemic crisis; a realignment which challenges the basic philosophy of our economic system and NO ONE is questioning whether capitalism is fundamentally flawed. Truly - our political leaders are only interested in how their sound bites play to voters, not whether or not thier ideas are connected to anything worth saving.
This rot is very deep. Sarah Palin is a wildly cynical reflection of how little respect John McCain and the Republican machine has for the principle that political leaders should be qualified to do anything other than be able to be able to talk mostly in full sentences and drape themselves in business clothing that matches the models hocking office furniture. The Republican machine is breaking new ground in our race to the bottom - but they are not to blame. They would not do this if it was not a true and tested means to the end they seek.
My support of Obama is still based on the hope that he really represents a possibilty that a relatively new but hopeful political outsider with real experience as a member a minority group in the United States could challenge the party machines at the 'systems' level. As the campaign goes on I have begun to believe this less and less. The Republicans party in this election is not worth serious consideration. Essentially a vote for that ticket is a vote in favor of a kind of shallow mean spirited empty hopelesseness that is a vote in favor of the characterization of the american voter AS a shallow mean spirited and hopeless reptile of consumption.
I want to be very careful here not to be misunderstood by my language. I do not mean to belittle ANYONE by calling them names. This is really how things look to me. I am sure that the folks that support McCain and Palin love their kids just like I love mine - and that they are fundamentlally sweet folks who hope the best for strangers just like I do.
I am not really a Democrat; but my politics are definitely liberal. I am mostly communitariam minded, but I have voted non-democrat in my life - I was even part of the Ralph Nader problem. This time around, however, if the Republican party wins the presidency in this election I cannot see how any serious thinker would interpret it as anything more than a surreal surrender of the American revolutionary spirit to the empty shapeless mass of technocratic, demographic-dissecting, modern vacuousness of suburban philisophical hopelessness and isolation.
This rot seems deep to me - but we are facing a real question here. Is this system with both of these parties worth anything more than the brightly painted clamshell airsealed packaging that the Republicans have stocked on the shelves; and what does it mean about us if we purchase what they are selling, open that package and do not notice that what we smell is rotten through and through?
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