I have to say that ultimately, I agree with xexex. In the ultimate "big picture", it's not going to matter if either side of the corporate run duopoly wins. If terrorists want to attack us, they will find a way. Neither George W. Bush nor John Kerry are going to magically wave a wand to make everything all better(Ralph Nader wouldn't either, just so some of you don't think I've finally seperated from reality). If Bush or Kerry wins, the fundamental inequalities in our nation's socio-economic class structure will continue to widen; the rich will just get richer and the poor poorer, while the middle class gradually shrinks into the poor.
Mindlessly siding with one side and/or compromising core principles just so you can side with a "winner" is destroying this country. Having essentially only two choices that aren't all that different from each other is a product from concentrating wealth and power in the hands of the few. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said, "We can have a Democratic society or we can have great concentrated wealth in the hands of a few. We cannot have both." Justice Brandeis said this in the 1930's, warning of the destructive powers that huge corporations could have on our country. Gee, I wonder if he was right?
I won't go into the disgusting nature of the Corporate ownership of what should be our civically controlled Government on the Federal and local levels. That's not just a thread unto itself, it is countless books, documentaries and magazine articles unto itself. I am not a Communist, Socialist or some insane Luddite. I believe in a capitalistic society, but that capitalism must be regulated, and it must bow to the wishes and demands of the people represented by their duly elected officials. We do not have such a reality in this country today, and that is disturbing and saddening.
I am pleased to see the enthusiasm with which many of you are preparing to engage in the most basic interactive facet of our representative democracy, voting. However, whatever your opinion and beliefs, and whether your "side" wins or loses(or loses but wins, heh), please, for the sake of our country, don't stop there. Direct civic involvement with our governing process is the only thing that is going to redeem our society. Don't just vote. Write a letter to your elected representatives, whether they be national or local, when they have to make a decision on an issue that concerns you or that you care deeply about. If you don't think that will do the trick, make a phone call. If that doesn't work, try to arrange a face to face meeting at their offices. If your elected officials refuse to represent your interests, then perhaps you should protest outside of their offices.
Five of my friends were arrested for attempting to have their "Democratic" Senator, Zell Miller, answer questions on why he has been voting the way that he has and behaving the way that he has in the past few years. They don't feel that he represents Democratic Party ideals for them in the United States Senate. They have been going to his offices for over a year to attempt to speak with him, and have been denied access. Finally, they were arrested and jailed for trespassing. Such flagrant disregard by an elected official for his constituency is appalling, whether he agrees with them or not. If, like my aqcuaintances, you don't think your elected officials will hear you, form a PAC or civic activist group and start making your case to other voters and the media. Infiltrate your local party and raise your concerns, and if they won't hear you, take enough of your friends until you are the majority and take over. Run for office. Shit, somebody has to do this horrible work. It might as well be us.
Get informed. Get involved. Stay that way. Or else P. Diddy will shoot you.
PEACE.
