Election

"The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast
The slow one now, will later be fast
As the present now, will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin
And the first one now, will later be last
For the times they are a-changin." - Bob Dylan

Sorry, no excuse for not posting. Mulling over all the news between then and now and it only further depresses most people. Now we must act. Readers of this blog do not need to be reminded that the electing of Obama is imperative if this country has any chance of righting itself from the almost total destruction of the constitution, the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch of this government. We are all aware of the abuses of power, the illegal and immoral war and our continuing economic meltdown. If we have any cogent thoughts in our head, we also know that an Obama presidency will not be a panacea for all the ills that this country will face in the days and months ahead. If we are progressives, we have a list of what this president should be doing almost immediately, and we would be in close agreement. For now I have these thoughts, again nothing prescient for I'm sure these thoughts are on many peoples mind now.

I'm convinced that this is an extremely divided country. We know of the red and blue state scenario and the extreme right religious views that have a stranglehold on the future of the country, but more under the radar is the division over racism and militarism. Racism is insidious and pervasive in our country. The underlying psychosis has been with us since before any civil rights legislation and has continued up to the present. Seemingly lying dormant, it is festering like a boil about to burst. It is probably going to be one of the main reasons to vote against Obama, whatever other reasons are put forward. Racism is of course allied with ignorance, and perhaps having a president who for the last eight years cultivated a us and them mentality, it gave license for hate to ignite.

After eight years of dumbing down society by the commander of dumbness and the sycophant right wing media, we are left with a society that champions being dumb and stupid. In many parts of our country, facts are irrelevant, reality is irrelevant, history is irrelevant and lies are truths. You can't win arguments with people who don't believe in data. There is a virulent strain of anti intellectualism pulsing through the veins of many of Americans. Don't bother to discuss with them. They have already made up their "minds". White is right, drill, drill, drill and kill, kill, kill is their rallying cry.

Militarism is our sacred cow. We have heard all the shibboleths. We're fighting for freedom, for the American way of life. First it was communism, the cold war justification for continued build up and when the Soviet Union was no longer a threat, a new bogeyman had to be manufactured. Terrorism fit the bill perfectly. Justification for going to war was disseminated to the public and a feckless congress went along with the hyperbole and lies. There is an estimate that the Iraqi war will cost up to one trillion as the expense and caring for veterans will escalate in the years to come. Today it is 10 billion a month. The mostly poor and lower middle class has payed the price with more than four thousands dead and thousands injured. In our arrogance there is hardly a mention of the thousands of Iraqi deaths and injuries and displacement of the population. We now have a defense budget at four hundred and fifty billion; over half of our total budget. It is the main cause for why we don't have national health care, child care, and an education system that is equal for all extending through college. It is why our infrastructure is collapsing, why we callously ignore national disasters particularly when it doesn't affect the status quo. It is why we perpetuate a system that relies on energy that will not be sustainable in our lifetime and why we propagate a perpetual war philosophy.

So the racists and the militarists will continue to pursue their beliefs. All the rhetoric about Wall St. and the give away yet again to the monied class; the financial meltdown, the home mortgage debacle are too arcane for many to decipher so they are left with their irrational gut feelings and that's how they will turn out and vote. Theirs is a non reality belief system.

We can only hope that the numbers of these will be smaller than we anticipate. We can have no delusion as to what is at stake in this election. The fact is we will be able to choose between two front runners at this juncture. One, as we all have heard so many times, will continue the last administration's policies and perhaps ramp them up even more. It is scarier than any Halloween scare movie that Hollywood could dream up.

We have witnessed some serious malfunctioning of the Republican party in the last months, weeks and days. From choosing the most ridiculous person for a running mate for John McCain, someone who was sent over from central casting for the movie "Dumb and Dumber," to the candidate for president whose chaotic campaign is matched by its canards of smear and fear. The most disingenuous item trotted out against Obama has to be the accusation that Obama wants to spread the wealth, while the same Republican party has given 715 billion in tax breaks to U.S. citizens who made over $342,000.

To me it is a no-brainer, but then again, after what I described as the non-thinking part of America, perhaps it will take a modicum of brain matter to sort it out. Obama offers change from a too long history of the same for the few. A change that has been articulated in a calm and forthright manner. We can see the mean spiritedness and inchoate agenda put forth by the Republican party. With Obama we can witness the intelligence, perceive kindness, compassion and clarity of a vision for America that refreshingly sees what is good for the least of us will be best for the rest of us.

We must work to the last minute to get out the vote. We must be diligent in observing how our voting system is working. It is probably one of the most exciting times in any of our history of political awareness. We have a chance of being part of a turning away from the dark side and embracing a hopeful and more humane future for America. May the force be with us.


Nataie Merchant - This House Is On Fire