So we have a new president named Barack Obama.
In my last blog I mentioned that I was, somewhat reluctantly, voting for the man. And I did. To be honest, I waffled quite a bit after posting that blog. After rereading it, along with Terry Ervin's comments, I realized that I was being a hypocrit.
How, you ask?
Well, I criticized people who let Bush manipulate them (with fear) into reelecting a worthless sack of feces braindead spoiled rotten rich kid. But then, I was (originally) voting for Obama out of fear. Granted my fear was of a braindead hockey mom religious zealot, but still. My vote was being manipulated by fear.
All the way up until I cast my (provisional) ballot, I was waffling between writing in a vote for my dude Ron Paul (watch for his new DVD: Too Honest for Washington!) and voting for Barack. When I sat down in the voting precinct, my little #2 pencil kept hovering between the bubbles. Several times I tried to force my hand down to the bottom of the ballot so I could write in Mr. Paul, but my gut kept telling me, "No!"
Now, I pride myself on thinking things through before acting. And I mostly do. I have very little respect for people who flit about being pulled behind their Ids, constantly humiliating themselves and having to apologize for uncontrolled impulsive behavior. But, on the other hand (I have five fingers!) I've learned that my gut feeling is almost always right. Nearly every time I've ignored my gut feeling, it's been regrettable. Sometimes on a large scale. Sometimes on a minute scale. Either way, my gut rarely steers me wrong.
So, I voted for Obama, shoved my ballot in the big provisional ballot envelope (somehow I wasn't on the register and the senile old geezers running the precinct kept insisting that I wasn't a registered voter...nevermind the fact that I'd just voted in the primary for this here election...and the previous presidential election, etc.) and left. No, I didn't go skipping away, rejoicing and feeling 100% ecstatic in the candidate I'd just endorsed. But I knew I'd done the right thing.
Now, a few days after Barack annihilated McCain, I'm beginning to get these ridiculoulsy paranoid and fearful e-mails stating that Obama's presidency is the second-to-last sign that the USA is collapsing beneath the weight of it's own decadence. When I log in to my MySpace account, people are posting these insane, almost schizophrenically paranoid rants about America voting itself into the red, iron claws of communism. Oh, and the old "New World Order" phrase has resurfaced. I hadn't heard that since it came out of GEORGE BUSH SENIOR'S mouth a while back. How soon these paranoid right wingers forget.
All of this, along with all of the parrotted conservative talk show host catch phrases ("Liberal Media", "Rockstar Obama", "America's New Saviour", etc.) never cease to crack me up. It's okay if people don't like the guy. Disagree with his politics, vote against him, etc. But, for the love of god, at least think for yourselves! You sound like starstruck teenagers who constantly go around quoting their favorite celebrity's catch phrases.
Let's keep things in perspective here, America. We have these things built into our government called CHECKS and BALANCES. Even if the Democrats completely take over in Washington (god forbid) there's no way Obama has free reign to do whatever he pleases. The dinger in the liberty bell may have swung from the right to the left, but it's padded with safety measures to ensure the bell doesn't crack from the extreme swing. Not to mention, there are enough fat cats who've been made rich by special interest groups, payoffs, bribes, etc. who would fight like momma bears protecting their cubs to make sure no president kills their cash cow.
I still stand by my belief that, until we have more than two teams in town, our government is screwed. We need at least three or four VIABLE choices/voices in DC.
But that doesn't mean that I won't enjoy listening to conservatives wind themselves up into a paranoid frenzy over Obama. I am, however, concerned about what Jon Stewart will have to make fun of. He's a smart, funny guy, though. He'll be okay.
While I believe that all politicians are untrustworthy scumbags, I think the real problem isn't McCain, Palin, Obama or Biden. Any time there's a monopoly, the majority (consumers/voters) loses. As long as we only have two so-called choices, our country's doomed to continue it's downward slide. We need more choices. The more the better. If we had 3-5 choices, it would force the lying scumbags to be at least somewhat more honest. I was totally going to vote for Ron Paul...even as it became clear that he'd be a snowball's chance write-in candidate. Just to drive it home that we NEED more choices. Well, not just for that reason. He's the only person campaigning who had a rock solid record for honesty, integrity, and sticking to the frickin' constitution. What a radical concept! I disagree with his abortion stance and a few other things, but I agreed with a bunch of his other beliefs. It's totally ignorant, in my opinion, to let one issue on a candidate's platform dictate who I vote for (for example, abortion, gun control, gay marriage, etc.). But then, Palin was selected (for all of the WRONG reasons: for the Hillary vote, for the radical right Christian vote, for voters who want a candidate with media appeal, etc.). To me, the very real possibility of a Christian extremist with no real experience taking over our country is terrifying. She has no respect for the NECESSARY separation of church and state. Even Jefferson stated that our country was never founded on the Christian religion. So, with a heavy heart, I'm going to be forced, again, to pick the lesser of two evils. And that, for me at least, no offense to McCain supporters, is Obama. And no, he isn't Muslim or Islam or whatever. I was raised Catholic and sent to Catholic schools and I'm an Atheist. Let's not make irrational, ignorant assumptions based on someone's name. We're better than that, America.So far it looks like the election's Obama's to lose. Which is fine. But I'm not running around with Obama's logo tattooed on my nipples or waving an "Elect Barack" flag. What terrifies me is, every time the topic of Barack being our next president comes up when there are rednecks around, their knee-jerk reaction is to say, "Yeah, well, he'll be assasinated as soon as he takes office!" Now, I'm not saying that everyone who doesn't want to vote for Obama is racist. That's an ignorant point of view. But, if the first thing out of your mouth is the above redneck knee-jerk reaction, then you're a fucking racist. End of story. If that's the first thing you think of, you need to just go around wearing a sheet with KKK on it and stop the false advertising. Just let everyone know that you're an inbred douchebag who judges people by their race. Then we'll know whose ass to kick.Back the terrifying part: it's not that there are still bigots. Sadly, I'm somewhat used to that pathetic situation. I live in Ohio, after all. It's this thought, What if Obama gets elected, then assasinated? Good god! Not only would it be horrible for him, his family, and our country, but what if our entire nation disintegrates into racially-fueled anarchic riots? Don't get me wrong, I'm not voting for McCain and Palin out of fear. Fear's the only reason that brain cell-deprived idiot Dubya got re-elected. Perhaps I'm being paranoid. I certainly hope so. But, however you feel, whichever candidate you support, America, please get out there and vote. And don't stop there. Hold these slimey politicians accountable for their performance (or lack thereof) once they're in office! If we don't, trust me, nobody will!
This summer I felt like reading something anti-establishment, so I picked up a copy of Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible. I'll admit that I only read the first 105-110 pages (after page 100 it turned into a treatise on spell casting, something that modern, rational human beings shouldn't pursue, in my humble opinion) but I found myself agreeing with most of what Mr. LaVey said. Before you picture me sitting in the middle of a flaming pentagram drinking goat's blood from a human skull, don't get your knickers in a twist. Satanists don't even believe in God, let alone a malevolent being called the Devil. They just basically preach that humans are animals who have evolved beyond the need to believe in gods, goddesses, demons, angels, etc. Ironically, one of the major points I disagree with Satanists on is revenge. LaVey urged people to warn wrongdoers (those who try to walk all over you, disrespect you, etc.) once to stop then, if they don't listen, strike out at them with all of the force you can muster. If we've evolved beyond the scope of primitive superstitions, shouldn't we also grow up past the infantile urge to strike back against all who supposedly wrong us? Doesn't that pretty much take us back to shit-chucking monkeyville? Probably the chapter of LaVey's book that hit home with me most was one called "Psychic Vampires". No, these aren't people who suck your gray matter out of your brainpan. They are folks who pretty much suck at life, yet still feel the need to tell others how to live. You've met 'em before: the total losers you went to school with who constantly cut others down because they (despite the cocky, blustery exterior) had low self-esteem, the people who have no lives so they insist upon leeching off of others who do, etc. Anyway, Sir Anton urged his readers to simply cut ties with psychic vampires without engaging them in arguments or other such nonsense. Because, if you jump down into their little mosh pit of despair and misery, you're only going to waste a bunch of time and energy. In the end, all you've accomplished is feeding the vampire's lust for drama...which is exactly what they craved and you wanted to avoid. In the past six months I've been irritated by co-workers, so-called friends, and one family member from the psychic vampire category. Each time I've found myself eager to face the confrontation headon (I've never been one to avoid it much), but thankfully I've thought it through for a few days and decided not to waste my time. Why urinate directly into a gale force wind when you despise reeking of piss? The fear I've always had of giving people the idea that they can use me for a welcome mat to wipe their feet on has, so far, been unfounded. When a friend attempted to engage me in an e-mail argument, I simply never responded. When a relative called me eight times within two days to push unsolicited advice down my throat, I let them spew their toxic venom into my voicemail box, then I deleted the messages without calling the person back. In the end, this relative was calling and apologizing (although only half meaning it) for being such an ass. Later I found out this relative was calling me names behind my back (apparently I'm a "dumbass who refuses to be told what to do"). Of course this made me angry and I was sorely tempted to call and/or write to defend myself and explain just how much of a douchebag this relative was being, but, after a long bike ride and some serious thinking, I calmed down and decided that reeking of psychic vampire urine is not on my list of life goals. This relative is over sixty years old and most certainly will not change due to engaging in Jerry Springer-style verbal combat with me. My friend I mentioned earlier is over thirty, so ditto there. So, basically, I've come to the conclusion that, if you're over twenty-five and you aren't someone I have to deal with on a daily basis, I'm not going to waste my time and energy on your drama. You're set in your ways. I'm set in mine. If I ask for your advice, give it. If I don't, keep it inside your own thick skull. I'll try to do the same...granted, if you're a junkie in need of an intervention or a friend who's joined a magic Kool-Aid drinking cult, that's a different story. Then I may have to impose some unsolicited advice on your sorry ass.
