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We seem to be having quite a bit of that lately. The discord, that is. It is so frustrating to me to watch our nation tear itself to shreds. From planned Islamic Centers, to partisan bickering, to pretty overt racism–I’m sad to say I am an adult among other (supposed) adults.
There are so many things we need to worry about, other than the aforementioned trivial b***S**t, if you catch my drift. There is a very violent conflict, just south of Texas, that goes virtually unnoticed. How many people–a lot of them innocent–die every day in Mexico? Phillipe Calderone’s government is having a tough time with this. From what I understand, Mexico is almost at the point of making deals with the Druglords and their factions just to calm things down. The Federal Police have already somewhat aligned with one of the major cartels in Juarez–and the ordinary officers were paying the price for their leadership’s alliance. The “regular” police rioted against the corrupt ones, and sadly, were dismissed from their posts (pending further disciplinary action). Since Mexico is our southern neighbor, how much can we/should we/have we given or give them help and advice? I would hate to see that country fail. And we were worried about Greece’s financial collapse.
It is certainly good to see that we are starting to pull out of Iraq; those people need a chance to come back together and create a great country with the promise of a peaceful future. It is a dim hope, but EVERY person deserves peace. The United States probably kept Iraqis so angry with the progress of change, that the only real change can come when we step away. The other possibility is that the nation turns to extremism–revenge, for short. Afghanistan, on the other hand…they have seen so many occupiers and changes of regime, our only prayer is to convince each and every Afghan that peace and prosperity is not that far away. If they have a national hope and pride, they may be able to see that blowing us and their fellow countrymen up is counterproductive. If we are able to share with them a day in our American lives, where we are relatively safe, they may see that we mean them no harm, and that they can have their way of life in peace. If hope in Iraq was dim, this prayer for their people may be a pipe dream. I wish both nations the best.
Speaking of money, it is somewhat confusing to me as to why the private sector is not even bothering to innovate. I’ve seen a few good things in the tech sector (i.e. phones, and the like), but other than that, where is all the “green” tech? We sank money into it on a federal level, right? So, get to creating things, even if the price of oil barrels dropped. All companies need to do some major R&D, and frankly, I did not realize that having lots of reserve cash and investors galore had anything to do with a corporation’s ability to make and sell a product that would earn money. Isn’t that how it was done in the old days? I’m not even talking about the new, startup companies, either. I’m talking about the old establishment corporations with enough cash in reserve to feed all the inhabitants of the D.R.C. for a year. These simple actions are too easy, and would result in too much gain for the average American (i.e. corporate production would necessitate hiring, more jobs = more people with money, people with money buy things, corporations profit, corporate taxes from profits go back into the pot…everybody wins.). As far as taxes go, yes, I wholeheartedly agree that an American company should be taxed heavily for offshore labor. I don’t mean having a division overseas…I mean when the whole of the manufacturing component of a company is in some area other than the U.S., we should tax them for the negative American jobs they created domestically. Perhaps the difference between the wages their foreign employees earn and American minimum wage–per employee? Ok, maybe that is going a bit far, but I am totally willing to pay the difference on your product if you at least keep half of the workforce here! For those who are screaming that taxes will drive these corporations away from the United States, I have this to say: Good luck with your incorporation in Iran, Columbia, Yemen, South Africa, Israel or Georgia. Even a giant like China is going to restrict your growth in some way, if not financially. I’m not particularly keen on worrying about lead in my toothpaste because the American company I bought it from doesn’t monitor their manufacturing sector very well in an unscrupulous or laxly regulated country.
Ugh. Enough about that. The issue here is A LOT of discordant behavior. This unwillingness to empathize, sacrifice a little, go out on a limb, hear an opposing POV…since when are we not human beings? Since when did we lose the ability to reason? Since when did we become so ugly to each other (and the fabled “them” that we find ourselves opposed to)? War, terrorism, classism, sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and so many other manifestations of our hatred for one another are enough to make me sick. I just want to call someone I’ve never met and solve a problem…or just talk to them, in an open, honest, and friendly way. Or walk up to someone on the street and say something nice. Or make a baby of another ethnicity laugh. I know that kind things are happening, but there is an overwhelming feeling of tempered anger among our fellow man. It was great to see how many people spoke out about the planned Qur’an burning in Florida, but it is truly sad that there are at least 30 people anywhere that feel this way about someone else’s faith. It’s time to do something different. Let me know where all the good-hearted people are, instead of letting me feel completely disheartened about the human race.
Her name is Shelly.
As an old English name, it means “Meadow on a Ledge”…whatever that is. For me, the female version of this name has a contemporary meaning; Shelly stands for replacement. Replacement. I’m being replaced.
We have been in a quandary since his parents flipped out. I agree with him–we should see other people, because there is somebody better for both of us out there. However, I do not believe we should do this now, not in front of each other’s faces. We discussed this, and more, that Sunday. So then, how could he tell me he loves me and lie with me until my soul touches heaven…and within the same hour, broach the subject of meeting her? He is the only person I know who could make love to a woman who loves him, make her feel safe in her most vulnerable state, make her forgive him (for parental beliefs that are not his fault–even though following them is), and then casually bring up “seeing new people”. I choked on my cigarette. His explanation was vague, so I don’t think he knew who he was being set up with, but he knew co-workers wanted him to meet some girl. He was noticeably excited about it.
Placid-face-saying-encouraging-things, meet Electrocuted-insides-screaming-expletives. Ya’all play nice.
I had made plans to see his students perform, before it was too late, the following Friday. I was going to come straight from work, and told him to tell the kids I was coming. The next day, he informed me that a co-worker would be introducing them the same night I planned to go, so I said that I would not be there. I was disappointed in not being able to see students I helped begin–and I was disappointed in him. He said he was sorry, but I don’t think either of us believed it.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday…went by quickly. I was trying to stay busy, all while being gracious, all while insanely competing with an unknown woman for my boyfriend of 5 years’ love. I stayed so busy, I didn’t notice until Thursday that I’d overdrawn my bank account–by about $100. I had to ask him for money so that I could just get to work, and I hated to do it. Of all weeks, and of all days, why did I have to show him that she was already better than me? I felt pretty resigned as I drove by the school on my way home alone Friday. I knew she was prettier. I knew she was smarter. I knew she was white.
What I didn’t know was her name. Nope…he told me that when he got home. After he kissed me hello, and after I quietly told him I didn’t want to know any details. He was considerate of my wishes and gave me only the broad gist of the meeting. He said he’d gotten Shelly’s phone number. I suddenly had a feeling that our weekend was going to suck.
We made plans a few months prior to go to Pensacola on Saturday to see the Blue Angels and to see Historic Downtown areas. We were to go the day after he met her. Still trying to be gracious, in a gritted teeth sort of way, I let him sleep in a little more than either of us should have. I knew we wouldn’t get to do any of the other stuff that I wanted to show him (like downtown) unless we left early, before eight. I also knew he would sleep late and somehow get out of doing anything that he didn’t want to do. I resigned myself to it, accepted his apology when he woke up with a headache at nine, and threw away the downtown maps. Why should he care about what I want? The airshow was awesome and we actually had a good time, enjoying each other’s company…except for when he was actually holding my hand in public while we were watching fireworks…and down here, hours away from virtually everybody he is related to…lo and behold…his cousin walks by, and he jerks his hand away from mine as though I had burned him. I actually thought I did. What bothered me most about the incident was not that he jerked his hand away; it was that, in a crowd of thousands, he was looking around for who might be looking at us.
On Sunday, he called her, and a date was set for Monday night. Mexican food was agreed to be a suitable choice. By that time, Shelly was a supermodel in my mind, and I hated her. Since I’ve been dating him, he has brought out this violent jealousy (emotionally turbulent, not fist-to-cuff) I never knew existed in me. I felt it then, and didn’t speak to him much throughout the day. Somewhere around nine in the evening, insanity took over, and I ironed his clothes–for school, and for his date. I chose a shirt I love to see him in, one that brings out his eyes and fits well. I have a favorite picture of him, and in it, he is wearing this shirt. In the picture, his eyes speak of a soft and deep love for me, nowhere near as intense and heart-melting as the real thing, but the picture actually does his gaze justice. I lovingly ironed every stupid crease as if the shirt could say, “She really ironed the shit out of me…she loves you this much…don’t do this, man.”
The next day, I didn’t have to work (awful time for an off-day). I was going nuts, so I cleaned a whole bunch of stuff, loaded the dishwasher, hung up my clothes, ironed the rest of his clothes, and played on the computer until he came home to change. I wanted (and had planned) to stay away from him, but insanity took hold of me again. I helped him get ready instead. I made sure he put on the good brown belt. I surveyed my ironing job as he put on the shirt. I reminded him to trim his nose hair. My heart imploded in spurts and jerks. I reminded myself that if Shelly was better for him, it was a good thing. I hated myself for thinking it.
As he was leaving he leaned over to kiss me goodbye. He always, always kisses me goodbye, no matter what else is going on in our worlds. This time, it was too awkward. Even as I leaned into him, our lips touched and my eyes flew wide open. My brain screamed, he is kissing you goodbye before he goes out on a date with another woman. HE IS KISSING YOU GOODBYE BEFORE HE GOES OUT ON A DATE WITH ANOTHER WOMAN. We both pulled away. We both looked away. He spoke first. “That was weird.”
I let him have a sad smile. How astute of you, jackass. “Yeah, weird…See you later.”
I watched him leave, I slammed the door, and I sat in the kitchen and cried. Just enough to know that I was still normal, and this betrayal hurt, and whatever he has fractured can never be fixed. None of this made sense. Five years. I have loved him through shit, but nothing like this, for five years. I hate him but I can’t hate him. I gave him permission to do this. I want him to be happy. With me. What did I do wrong? What could I have done to make him choose me over a normal southern-white life? What is so wrong about a life with me? I used to be so strong. Why did I choose to surrender some of my power to this man? Why can’t I see that he is just as racist and stupid as his parents and everyone else? He can’t reconcile the racism and the love for me, so he is just quitting. It’s easier. Why can’t I hate him and walk away? I went to the basement and watched T.V. At some point, I locked the door. I didn’t want to see him until I was ready to face him, and I sure didn’t want him bouncing in talking about some great date that he had. I knew it would be great. I knew he would want to kiss her, get rid of me, date her many more times, tell her she’s beautiful, propose to her, marry her, make babies with her, spit on my grave with her.
It took me a little while to come out of the basement once he came home. He did knock on the door, and I told him I’d be out later. I got up all my courage and walked outside, but downstairs, instead of upstairs on the deck, where he was. He was on the phone with his parents. I hate them still. He walked down to me. He must have seen the look in my eyes and so he kept walking past. He turned around and just looked at me. At this point I figured he couldn’t tell me anything about this stupid date because he was too busy pretending I wasn’t here while talking to family. I walked alongside him, and we walked upstairs together.
Since I have waited until my wounds healed a little, Shelly is actually out of the picture, and what he told me about the date is irrelevant. He told me things that made me feel better, and things that made me feel like there will be a lot more where she came from. I still love him more than I hate him, and have probably been nicer to him this past week than I have in a while. I have not–and will not–let my guard down. He is the only one who has the power to hurt me so much that part of me will be destroyed. I really can’t afford to damage the wrong part of my soul, and never trust enough to know love again. I know that now. I am enjoying what time we have left, and I want him to remember me for a long time.
Shelly stood for replacement–my replacement–but she just as easily could have been Jessica, Ashley, or Lily. The irony here is in what his name means. In English, Israeli and Hebrew…the man I chose to trust…has a name that means “Supplant” or “Replace”. We should have both seen this coming.
I finished reading A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier in Sierra Leone during the 90s. It is his memoir, but more than that, it is a book that raises awareness of the plight of children who are forced to “grow up”–and kill–in completely destabilized African nations.
This is probably the best book I’ve read in a long time…upon finishing I just felt like an awful human being. Awful, because when I was 12, I was upset because my mom wouldn’t let me “sleep-over” at a friend’s house…at 12, Ishmael lost his family in a rebel attack on their village, sending him on a hellish journey for the next five years of his life.
Now, at the approximate same age as Ishmael, I have not a single life experience in common with him. I can thank God that I’ve never had to kill anyone for anything, and this is something I’m sure he lives with today and for the rest of his life. But…he, at 28, with this book, with his speeches at the UN, and with his involvement in Human Rights Watch, is doing so much to bring awareness to the children that continue to be forced into fighting wars, that it is clear he was spared for a reason. I am thankful that Ishmael survived, and came back from the most wicked edge of humanity to write this book, so gripping in its details that I could not put it down.
Read this. If you are anything like me, you will want to gather the children to you (ALL of them, in every war-torn country you’ve ever heard about) and shield them, before their childhoods are taken in such horrific ways. You will be haunted, but the time spent reading will be worth it.
last year I started a tumblr account to keep up with my pictures for cross-post, but I don’t think it’s really been used since January.
Not that anybody cares, but I’m removing the RSS and the link to my tumblog from my wordpress account…did anyone else that uses tumblr notice that it became impossible to post videos with their vimeo partnership?
I may also be playing with my format here too.
I have stayed out of this Health care debate pretty successfully until now. I’m not a doctor, insurance agent, or a politician. I have no special interest in this at all…except that I am again uninsured (unemployed again…geez, that sounds horrible, but a 5-hour commute to work every day would not have been possible)…but this is a debate that is completely full of ugliness and b.s. being slung from both sides. I don’t completely agree with any side vs. the other in any way, but I do have a few ideas that might be of interest.
Here’s what my primitive, 28-year-old brain came up with. A major part of this is raising taxes. YES…simply plan to raise taxes in the area of Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. Tell the truth about it!! They are payroll taxes anyway, and at my basic calculations we will need approximately $420 billion to get this thing started.
- Employ parts of the Whole Foods method. If you haven’t heard about this, read here, but understand that I do deviate quite a bit:
- Create health savings accounts (HSAs) for each individual American. I think a good number here would be $1500 (hence, the $420 billion for the 280 million of us that are currently here).
- Every American with a Social Security Number will be assigned this account on January 1 of their first year of life. Parents can opt-out at birth for religious or other objections.
- Annual contributions to the HSA will make it at least equal to, but no more than the prescribed minimum, here $1500. So, if someone only uses $150 of their HSA, the Fed will only add back $150 on the following Jan 1st.
- The amount of the HSA will increase over time, because it will accrue interest. Safe investing should cover this. If an individual opts not to use any of the funds, the government will not need to add anything to it, nor will it hurt the economy if the money sits and accrues interest (ok, except that it won’t be in the process of being spent at Best Buy).
- Turn the much talked about “public option” into a High Deductible Insurance plan that is federally funded.
- The federal government, businesses and individuals should put funds in reserve that people could use without private insurance or demonstrate need. For my purposes, we’ll call it Federal High Deductible Insurance (FHDI).
- Set the deductible before insurance pays at a reasonable, but attention-getting level above the HSA level. So, if there is $1500 in an individual’s HSA and the deductible is set at $2000, once an individual has exhausted their savings acct they must pay $500 out-of-pocket before any public option kicks in.
- If individuals opt to not purchase any form of insurance, they will pay into the FDHI fund as part of their federal taxes. They won’t have to pay any extra if their income level causes their HSA to be dormant, unless they have no private insurance and have to use the FDHI.
- If businesses don’t directly insure their employees, they will have to pay into this fund annually based on their number of employees.
- Create health savings accounts (HSAs) for each individual American. I think a good number here would be $1500 (hence, the $420 billion for the 280 million of us that are currently here).
- Costs could possibly be contained in the existing insurance companies if we do this first step in setting up HSAs for U.S. citizens. Reasons why:
- Citizens can choose to either spend all HSA funds first before allowing insurance or other coverage to kick in OR can use the HSA to cover costs private insurance does not cover (i.e. if insurance pays 70% of a procedure the HSA funds can cover the other 30%).
- Only once the HSA is exhausted might a person go to their private insurance or a publicly-funded option, and may even elect to choose less expensive insurance.
- If individuals have private insurance they must use this instead of the FDHI, but could use the public option if their insurance company refused to pay for a procedure.
- I too think it is a.)ridiculous to forceinsurance companies to cover random people with pre-existing conditions that have never had insurance and b.) ridiculous to define pre-existing conditions as being pregnant while switching from one insurance provider with similar coverage to another. I can understand reluctance to cover persons with pre-existing conditions who have not previously had any coverage…for this reason I believe the FHDI would be the best and only option. For those who are switching between companies with similar coverage and benefits, we absolutely should force insurance companies to treat them as lifelong customers.
- One other enhancement that might help the above situation would be to standardize the benefits among all insurance companies and at least have similar levels of coverage for approximate costs…not carbon copies, but this would not only give companies a space to compete but a way to judge similar coverage from another company. Also there may be a place for a mandatory, basic plan that exists with the same benefits and at the same price point with all companies.
- Insurance companies should be allowed to compete across state lines, since the FDHI ideally would operate on a national level.
- Some other important points about the HSA that might make it work
- Anyone can refuse to use their HSA, but just like the payroll taxes we pay for medicare/social security, it would still be funded by every American. This is a necessary evil, because the public option is “insurance for when insurance fails”.
- Any citizen’s HSA will become dormant or inactive when they begin to make over $250,000 per year. It can become active again if their income falls below this amount.
- It might still be okay to allow the individuals described above to use the high deductible public option if they choose not to purchase private insurance. They would simply have to pay the $2000 out-of-pocket first.
- When an individual either reaches the age or otherwise becomes eligible for medicare or medicaid, their HSA will rollover into this general fund. This, of course, means we have to fix these programs.
- End-of-life counseling is a great idea. Providing the funds for it is also a great idea, so when the funds rollover, there might be a portion set aside for this purpose.
- All employers must either offer some form of coverage or pay into the national HSA fund and the FHDI fund.
- This has been a talking point that has angered many Americans–to force the small business owners to offer insurance at much higher rates than large businesses. A Health Cooperative might be the best plan here.
- Small businesses can band together in what is recently being referred to as a marketplace or exchange, since the difference between them and large companies is numbers.
- The more small businesses (and individuals who for whatever reason need to buy their own) that band together in a state, a region, a profession, etc., can get more competitive rates.
- These co-ops may need to operate across state lines, to take advantage of the greatest numbers possible
- These co-ops might be of interest to fragmented organizations, where they might find the most competitive rates if they band together in larger numbers.
- In order to get into the co-op, a small businesses might pay a one-time fee (per corporate entity) to the FDHI, a reasonable amount that would not only bolster the FDHI, but allow the business access to the cooperative network, then set this up as a deducted benefit to their employees.
- For the sake of being fair, large businesses (with whatever criteria will classify them as large) will not be allowed to put employees into the co-op systems.
- If they opt not to insure employees directly, they can either:
- Pay a fee anually to the FDHI through their business taxes, or
- Set up their access on the network, but set it up so individual employees can choose their own coverage, but still work within the discounted co-op structure with whatever network fees that might entail being covered by the employer.
- This has been a talking point that has angered many Americans–to force the small business owners to offer insurance at much higher rates than large businesses. A Health Cooperative might be the best plan here.
- The other cost-cutting measures would be to fix the issues in the medical profession itself. Currently, medicine is advancing quickly, but malpractice issues–that drive up cost–are in need of overhaul. I don’t know enough to wax poetic, but I’m willing to pay for the innovation, not so much the litigation. There is the problem within the insurance and government way of thinking that they will bargain for the average cost of a service and pay only what they deem is the “fair” price. Let’s investigate if this is really fair to the physicians that take care of us
I feel that this might be an idea–a rough draft–of a direction we could go. We’re slated to spend $900 billion on this anyway…These ideas give choice; they allow for competition; they cover those who are not otherwise covered; these ideas give an idea of the source of funding, and how they go back to medicare in the long run; they should appeal on some level to all Americans.
In conjunction with whatever health plan that is chosen, there will need to also be a huge effort and focus on better health choices and prevention through lifestyle changes.
Surely we can agree on some comprehensive reform where everyone on every side wins something. There is no place for any more ugliness in a civilized, adult problem-solving process.
Blue Mosque
The morning of September 12, 2001, The manager at my job held a meeting with all of our Turkish employees. I worked on campus at my University, and the school had been recruiting students from Turkey for several years. Many of these students ended up working where I did, just for some extra cash. Our manager met with them to warn them about retaliation from fellow students, and the community after the 9/11 attacks. He also assured them of our support at work–we knew who they really were, and not to worry. The whole meeting worried me…I knew these guys…and obviously they were nowhere near the World Trade Center. I knew that they were in class that tragic morning–like the rest of us–or sleeping through class–like the rest of the rest of us. I wondered in the back of my mind if people really would equate MIDDLE EASTERN with MUSLIM and ultimately with TERRORIST.
I have grown up with friends from Saudi, Egyptian, Iranian, Turkish, Pakistani, and other backgrounds that made their family’s religious upbringing Muslim. As far as people go, they were only as different as my Jewish, Catholic or Korean Baptist friends were to me. Because of this, I absolutely REFUSE to believe that everyone in the Islamic world is our enemy. I want to see how far the propaganda of the Bush Administration and our emotional state (since 9/11 and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars) have taken us.
I found a poll–please take it! I want to see more of what we think about Islam (as I’m sure the author, Tony, does too) in a post-9/11 world. When I submitted my vote, the results I saw were quite surprising.
The summation operator, Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the ancient Greek alphabet. As an upper case letter (∑), it is used as a symbol for sums and series in which each term is computed from the previous one by adding (or subtracting) a constant. I’m no mathematician, but in simplified terms and common use, Sigma is used to add all parts, in sequence, to give a total made up of every number in the sequence.
I am now at an age that I need to feel a sense of unity in the larger nation and world. As my world expands, I would like to know that most human beings are decent. As I move into a world larger than the college campus, I would like to know that adulthood is filled with adults. I also realize that our country is divided along so many lines that there is no “sum of all parts.” In my lifetime I’d like to see us back away from selfishness and embrace each other, if such a thing is still possible.
I began writing down growing feelings about my much larger world (as an adult) fairly recently. Everything I say is an opinion–take my words with a grain of salt. There might, however, be some grains of truth hidden inside. I just write it as I think it.
And for all of you who came here looking for…well…the meaning of Sigma, try this link to a summation tutorial. I found it quite helpful.
The Meaning of SIGMA 
Change IS Good
September 9, 2008 in politics, Uncategorized | Tags: commentary, McCain, media corruption, Obama, political parties, politics, Presidential Election 2008, voters | 2 comments
Change IS Good, and the Costs Are Worth It
It is time for a new kind of politics.
I have heard it said by my favorite politician, among others. It is a call to battle with more far-reaching effects and implications than our call to attack Afghan insurgents and the Iraqi dictatorship. To have a new political sensibility might mean that our leaders will inform us instead of working us into a frenzy of propaganda-fueled patriotism. To really need to ask for this small, but indispensable feature in a leader would let us know that our democratic system is floundering and in need of help.
Our generation and those in the upcoming voting generation, by and large, are not as interested in voting or politics since we distrust those figure heads already in place. As Americans, we have grown up privileged and cannot even begin to know the liberties, defining issues, and forgotten ideals of our nation. It’s easy to see how we take for granted our upbringing and leisure activities. We don’t remain glued to our radios for news on the war in Iraq—we’re too busy listening to personal playlists on our iPods and performing our roles as “Me Generation” adults—so it comes as no surprise that Americans inside and out of our generation are classically disaffected. If the common tie of the citizens of the United States was WWII in our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ era, then ours must logically be the War on Terror. But how many of us truly see this as a defining moment…a turning point for our nation?
There are some changes that we desperately need before we don’t even notice that our country has become too socialist, too capitalistic, too racist, too liberal, or what have you. First, I propose a new kind of political party—either within the existing parties or a totally new concept—where the superficial and petty politics of today don’t exist. Long shot, I know. In addition, we need a media that is truly responsible for what they say—and must be as thorough as possible without distorting the facts or showing undue bias. The last change should come first in the series. This will not be a change from Washington, but in fact, we need a fundamental change from within all everyday American citizens, from the oldest to the youngest. Let me start with the media of today.
They wonder why the printed newspaper is dying, when they are bought by media moguls, often combined with television and radio networks. They choose allegiances and defend their journalistic opinions with a partiality that borders on unprofessionalism. And their antics merely serve to generate ratings and promote agendas, which Americans should be aware of when looking for facts in current events. I do have an opinion, and I am sharing it here…but…I am a regular citizen and not held by the standards that we should have for our running “historians”. Pan American Flight 103 in 1988, The L.A. Earthquakes and new awareness, The Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing, the shootings at Columbine, and that most tragic September day in 2001—all have shaped my perception of and feelings about events, and I never was present for any of them.
How else could I have known about any of those tragedies but for the media’s omnipresence? If events of the last twenty-five plus years were only accessible to me through the media, think of many other Americans who depend on the nightly news, cable networks, and newspapers for their information. Journalists (and their bosses) owe us a brand of truth unsullied by partisan agendas or propaganda. We are not so dumb as to need a hand-packaged opinion about our world—the facts should suffice. In order for the mindset of this nation to progress, we need the whole story presented neutrally and in detail. If not, a 1984-esque future awaits, where instead of journalists and others retelling the news in the context of their opinions (or those of their networks) it could easily become one where our opinions and beliefs are being dictated to us. Sadly, there are those of us who are content to be told opinions on issues, but theses people need to be reminded that they live in the United States of America, where they have the right to their own.
Closely tied to this idea is the public awareness of the actions of our national leaders, and television journalism, especially, is the medium. There is a need for a new political party, or a vast reformation of existing party ideas. Highly shaped by popular opinion, candidates of this years’ election are prime examples. I have a favorite (Barack Obama), but with the way even his campaign has changed since securing the Democratic nomination and the public attention from the 2008 DNC. But I get an uneasy feeling every time I sense that McCain, Obama, and other center-stage politicians are saying or doing something only to sway favor.
Statistical data and polling have shown that voters already go for a more aesthetically pleasing candidate, so by default, some very genuine people are out of the running based on looks. Voters also tend to migrate to a candidate with the same morals/religious beliefs/upbringing as themselves. Then, there are the “hot-button” issues of abortion, gun control, the war, race, gender, etc. In this case too, opinions are a**holes, because we can be swayed because of opinions. The difference however is that politicians’ opinions are the most important because it is they who decide our national course of action. When they have a position on an issue that has been influenced by special interests or personal ambition, and we follow like sheep—then we play into their hands. When presidential, gubernatorial, mayoral, or PTA presidential nominees are not genuine, we suffer even more.
What if we had politicians that wouldn’t manipulate sometimes fragile emotions? Could U.S. voters be enamored with a politician that not only remained true to their core beliefs, but would be more than willing to reconsider positions if current actions were detrimental or not particularly helpful—despite any criticism? Could Americans adjust to a politician without artificial glitz and hype? Could the next thinkers, policy-makers, and true leaders be recognized for their merit as the best representative of our nation instead of what we have now? Even I am not sure what to believe in, although I am prepared to take the ultimate gamble on my candidate because I feel that he is closer to that genuine person I want to see in office.
Actually, I am impressed with the overall quality of candidates this election season. I have spent my days since all the candidates have been publicly known hoping that no real dirt is being dug and that, even unintentionally, no dirt is being found. The revelation of Palin daughter Bristol’s teenage pregnancy, was sensationalized from the very start, based on a rumor that Palin’s last son, Trig, was actually her daughter’s. This was due in part to not only the media, but a new element…the blogosphere…where the issue was first raised. The rumor actually began as a benign fancy, if there was no valid truth to it—then, was discredited by revealing the truth that she is currently five months pregnant, which ideally would have rocked the conservative base to the core. In this instance, however atypical, this did not really raise any eyebrows in an election season where republicans are grasping for straws.
All I can hope is that the Obama campaign had nothing to do with it, and I am slightly reassured that he has condemned such tacky actions and promised swift dismissal if it is being propagated by any of his staffers. We have known since the 2000 election that George W. Bush was excessive in his drinking habits…but the general population didn’t know this when his father ran for office. Barack, after all, does have two young daughters that he and Michelle would like to keep out of the close scrutiny of the political spotlight. Senator Biden is the only one I’m not sure about, because I don’t know very much about him, except that Jay Leno cracked on the senator for butting into a conversation to brag on Obama. Troubling comments from Moscow surrounding the Russian involvement in the Georgian conflict, comes from Medvedev and others—the belief that the pot has been stirred from Washington—have me very worried about what is really going on in this election. After all, who is best prepared to face issues reminiscent of the cold war?
If these four, very prominent politicians can find some way to be ultra genuine, and give this country a fighting chance at an unknown future. The United States cannot afford to once again have more trouble created than we can get out of (remember the war in Iraq?).
But we voters are fickle. The biggest change must come from within. We must DEMAND a level of truth from the media and politicians, because the United States is built upon the principles that every man, woman and child has inalienable rights. That dream has been marred by lack of power for women, finally extended in America in the twentieth century; even then there was a pervasive belief that women would vote with their eyes and feelings—something that politicians count on today. That dream had been denied to minorities until nearly one hundred years after the end of slavery; seen as backwards and somehow intellectually less than the white majority, African Americans reinforced these truths in the desperation of our shared “cultural conduct,” even though the best of us are the same as any other person of comparable class and education…but now, when we have the best chance to see eye to eye as Americans and push for the promise that our nation still holds, we wallow in old wounds and mistrust.
Government is going to be much more comfortable with a population that is too complacent and dumb to question the questionable. The call to action is for us as an entire, unified nation to use those inalienable rights—to question, to never settle for less than the American ideal, and to get more comfortable with the fact that not every idea, belief, practice and policy will please us as individuals…but that there’s a chance that tolerance and present discomfort will benefit our children’s future. For these same reasons, we must have political leaders with integrity. For these same reasons, we must only accept a media presence that is committed to fact-telling for the public good. A truly intelligent America will become a threat unless we ensure that the right people are pulling our national strings.
Change is good, and it is time for a rebirth in the United States. Both candidates are currently talking about their versions of change, and enough of us are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs to really get that much-needed change this time. It may very well be our last chance for a while.