opinion@dailylobo.com
H.L. Mencken wrote, “The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.” I know how that feels. I guess that makes me a radical.
I recently lost my dear grandmother, and it got me thinking. When you lose a close family member, it’s only natural to reflect on your own life — and hopefully you learn to appreciate it a little bit more. I’m glad to be alive and I feel lucky to have such a great family. I’ve also met some wonderful people over the years, many of them right here at UNM.
But I also got to thinking about how sad and disappointed I am with the state of our world, and how truly hopeless our situation is unless we change our ways, and fast. I have serious concerns about humanity’s future, and I’m especially troubled by the rising tide of anti-intellectualism, racism and religious fanaticism in this country. A new form of political and religious extremism has recently taken hold of our once progressive nation.
It bothers me that so many of us are becoming less tolerant of our fellow citizens at a time when more tolerance, compassion and forgiveness are urgently needed. The country is more polarized than ever. The extremists don’t simply choose to disagree with progressives, they literally want to eliminate us from society altogether. They’d be perfectly happy to send all the liberals, gays, immigrants and non-Christians away somewhere for reprogramming — or worse.
I have never seen such a toxic environment in my lifetime.
Political differences are a necessary fact of life in America, but since Obama’s election four years ago, the tone and intensity of what passes for political discourse has grown more vicious and sinister than ever. Racism is clearly a major factor in all this.
Nobody really wants to talk about it, though. I understand that.
Americans appear to be getting dumber and crazier every day. I just don’t see real change happening any time soon. Not through the political process, anyway. The next generation of Americans will have things worse off than their parents for the first time since the Great Depression. They will inherit a debauched, corrupt political culture and a dying planet. It is certainly not all the fault of Obama. American society is devolving into chaos while the rest of the world continues to advance intellectually, socially and economically. Case in point: the bizarre and troubling attacks on women’s rights.
Hypocritical moral crusaders have hijacked the political agenda and essentially shut down the democratic process for the sake of advancing their extremist ideology. Our government is now totally dysfunctional thanks to Citizens United, allowing for unlimited amounts of money to influence the electoral process. How did progressives allow our democratic principles to become so compromised? We’ve let a tiny, incredibly wealthy minority dictate the terms of our existence.
In a nation ruled by corporate greed, the “bottom line” is all that matters. Naturally, costs must be cut and profits maximized.
When assets belonging to everyone are taken from them and privatized for the sake of someone’s profit, only the shareholders win. We can no longer afford to allow America’s infrastructure to be sold to the highest bidder.
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That’s why it’s more important than ever to get out and vote this year. Progressives like me are once again faced with the prospect of having to vote for a candidate who doesn’t truly represent our values in order to make sure that the greater of the two political evils is ultimately defeated in this election. Never has the notion of having to choose between the lesser of two evils been more accurate. Mitt Romney must be defeated in 2012 or the consequences for the country could be dire, especially for women, children, workers, college students, the sick and the elderly — like my grandmother.
Traditionally, only about 30 percent of eligible voters actually vote in American elections. This is a pathetic and downright baffling state of affairs. Voting should be required of all citizens, like it is in some countries. The political landscape in America would certainly be quite different if everyone participated. Low voter turnout typically helps Republicans.
To those who feel it’s not necessary to take the time to vote this year, especially young voters, I say this: I share your cynicism.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that the president of the United States is really more of a ceremonial position than anything else, kind of like the Queen of England. He rallies the troops, makes flowery speeches and kisses lots of babies. The political pendulum swings back and forth every few years, but the real power behind the throne lies with the president’s handlers in the military-industrial complex.
This year, there are actually some pretty big differences in the two candidates’ philosophies, though: notably on health care and defense spending. If my choice has to be between Tweedledee and Tweedledum, I’m going to go with Tweedledee, if you know what I mean. It’s a shame that I can’t vote for who I really think should be president — Gary Johnson — just to ensure that I don’t throw away my vote. I sure as hell don’t want to hand the reins of the greatest power on earth to a sociopathic job-killer like Mitt Romney. At least Obama seems like a good man, and for the most part his policies reflect that.
This race never should have been as close as it is. According to a recent survey, if only women voted, Obama would win by a landslide, and if only men voted, Romney would win. On top of everything else, we now have a huge gender gap in America. The sexes can’t even get along in this country. So why aren’t women flocking to the polls? Discuss.
Even if Obama is re-elected in November, don’t expect too much, because the ideologues in control of the Republican Party will simply shut down the government if they don’t get their way. They did it before and they won’t hesitate to do it again. I shudder to think what sort of ugly new obstructionist tactics they’d come up with in Obama’s second term.
I’ll admit I voted for Obama in 2008 for symbolic reasons more than anything else. I’m not kidding myself. I’ve been pretty disappointed and even outraged by some of what Obama has done during the last four years. After all, he’s still a tool of Wall Street. He supports kidnapping and indefinite detention of citizens without trial; he didn’t close Guantanamo Bay as promised; he’s authorized the use of unmanned drones to assassinate and terrorize people in defiance of international law; he prolongs the failed drug war; Obamacare should be single payer … the list goes on.
Still, the alternative is much worse. I’m sure H.L. Mencken would understand.
