Current mood:

annoyed

Politics... what an awful disease.
Conservative - old-school, reactionary, wants to keep taxes in check, keep industry free from regulation so that corporations can profit, thinks we should only get involved in foreign issues when it directly threatens the security of our nation, wants to preserve old-school values and morals, wants to protect the expression of Christian religious beliefs while not so interested in allowing the same protections for other religions...

Liberal - new-wave, tree-hugger, spend your way to a solution, big government, regulate industry, protect workers and citizens from abuses by corporations, want to get involved with overseas injustices for the sake of principle, I'm okay - you're okay values, want everyone to have the same rights, regardless of lifestyle/gender/sexual orientation/ability/religion...

Sure, you could add to either of those lists. But take a look at even the partial list of characteristics (actual or stereotypical) that I've put together to cover the two ends of the 'political spectrum'.

How many 'Conservative' characteristics match your belief system? How many 'Liberal' characteristics match your belief system?

It seems the modern political landscape - now more than ever, by my observations - has been deftly drawn into two opposing camps. And yet, who feels completely at home in either camp? I see enough people on lj or in my 'real' life who seem to believe that they are firmly aligned with one end of the spectrum or the other. And yet even the very leaders who wear the hats saying 'Conservative' or 'Liberal' don't follow these self-adorned tenets.

It's frustrating to me in a very literal sense - aggravating, exasperating, leaving me hopeless for the fate of our people - that so many jump so quickly to the opinions of the various talking heads and political mouthpieces.

Whatever happened to thinking for yourself?

When did political debate (among the population, not a dozen times on TV throughout the year-long election coverage) become about "My dad can kick your dad's ass!" instead of "My dad puts a roof over my head, keeps me safe, looks after my education and puts food on my table." In other words, when did people starting rooting for a political 'team' instead of looking at all the players for the All-Stars?

Meh... One candidate wants to shut down the borders and ship illegal immigrants back to Mexico. Great. Now my lawn service is gonna cost me twice as much. Another candidate wants to immediately withdraw from Iraq and bring home the troops. Awesome. So now we'll have a chaotic civil war involving Iran, Iraq, the Kurds, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia, hell why not throw in Afghanistan, Pakistan, U.A.E., Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Kuwait while we're at it. Gas just went up to $15.00/gallon and my children and their children are fucked because an entire region is about to go nuclear. Awesome.

None of these candidates are, on the whole, completely wrong and completely ignorant. Some of them are, in my opinion, even feigning an ignorant stance in order to appeal to voters. (The lowest common denominator.)

So why do people 'pick on' the appearance, mannerisms, personal beliefs, etc. of a candidate instead of talking about what they would do if elected? I don't really care if Hillary cries or Giuliani has to get his nuts removed due to prostate cancer. But I sure as hell care what they're going to do about alternative energy, oil, nuclear power, automobile emissions, taxes, the budget, the deficit, social security, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Darfur, immigration, education, gay marriage, civil unions, religious freedom, privacy... and other topics.

Unless you're going to talk about what a candidate would do while in office, I don't want to hear it.

These are political candidates, folks. Not your drinking buddy, not the quarterback at your beloved college football team (whether you ever attended the school or not), not your big brother/little brother/mom/dad that you have to defend because you feel a loyalty. Look at them for what they stand for, what they would do if elected and then tear them apart to see whether life with them as your elected leader would be better or worse. (And no, that doesn't mean that having to see 'that bitch' or 'that jackass' on TV every night qualifies as being "worse".)

Man... I just get tired of ignorance.