…this one or THAT One?

    The US of A will vote for a new leader of the free world in just about two weeks. And for this latte-loving godless liberal, who incidentally cannot even vote in this election, the choice is very clear, as it should be for anyone else. Or so it seems. Consider. On one side is a clearly decisive person, who has well-articulated plans and coordinated reactions to crises, a more compassionate view of the not so fortunate and a rather inclusive kind of approach. On the other there is someone who seems to meander from position to position on anything concrete, except perhaps scary far right issues- so far right that they are that side of wrong.

   But I am an outsider- a non-citizen, what would it matter to me? Only that it does. The USA has the enviable and sometimes not so enviable position as being the one nation whose internal affairs have such far reaching external impact- think Afghanistan in the 1980s, then the first Iraq war, then of course Afghanistan and Iraq all over again. Think back to Vietnam and Korea. Yes, it matters who is in charge in the US. It matters greatly. And not only in war. But in peace. As Thomas Friedman has put it so beautifully "The world looks to us for leadership "(the USA) in his "Hot, Flat and Crowded". And it is not just leadership, but innovation, indeed sometimes the very definition of what freedom and democracy stands for.

     Consider freedom of speech. In most other democracies, it is just listed in the constitutions, but here it is taken very seriously indeed; a fact that was borne out to me when I first saw " Wag the Dog". It was not just the film that left an impression, but the idea that such serious political satire could be allowed in some nation- remember I was coming from the country which was the first democracy to ban Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses. Before I could have attributed such freedom to works of creative fiction, I was to discover websites which openly and unapologetically expressed views they subscribed to minus the mask of faith or tradition. And the news:- they really were able to say whatever they felt- totally unafraid. Clearly something was very right here. Could it possibly be the way things were run?

    That with other things has made me take a closer, more personal view of what is happening in politics- this election in particular. Aside from its historical firsts- and very closely contested primaries, much finger waving and back patting- always fodder for news, suddenly it seems a lot is at stake. It must the Economic slowdown- no-don't-call-it-a-recession-yet. A couple of banks closing their doors, acrimonious business deals and a now downward pointing Dow- stability never seemed more important as stability, steadiness, well-studied responses along with seriousness toward education guided with calm demeanor and progressive policies.

Yes, progressive and Pro-poor with pro-development which calls for regulation of very predatory corporate. Not handing out tax breaks to a select few in the hope that the prosperity will flow down. Because prosperity is like water- and in scarce times it rarely condenses enough to water those in the lower reaches. It gets absorbed in the rarified echelons of bigger and richer corporations. "Past is prologue" as a wise politician put it. But decades of sneering at populism, and demonizing concern for the people as "socialism" has led to another almost post Black Friday Depression. Deregulation and free market work for the better, but only in a very ideal world- not one which is already crippled by a growing social inequity coupled with a crippling and meaningless war on terror, even while not trying to break away from an addiction to fossil fuels. You would think they would have figured out that oil is exhaustible a long while ago- even ALL the oil in all the oil wells in the entire world.

    A president, though, even in the most important country in the world, can not control the shape of things to come. But he can and he does most certainly shape the way problems are approached, which is why more than ever an educated person is needed. Education of course is not only about an Ivy-League degree- but it does help a lot more than a sneering at elitism by a wannabe. More than ever the completely empty headed "g" dropping rhetoric on the other side is off putting. As is the assertion that somehow the "mainstreet" is not peopled by people who try to better their lot- become elite maybe. Or the idea that somehow showing respect to neither one's enemies nor the strutting bravado of a bully is weakness. Because then, what separates America from any cult-driven despotism. Throw in some good old fashioned racism, stir it up with a total dislike for anything even remotely foreign (funnily enough the dislike never extends to fossil fuels, or national debt). And even paying more taxes becomes unpatriotic as does anything else short of tattooing the stars and the stripes across your forehead.

Because when you cannot offer a solution, you can scare others away from the other side and perhaps that is the weakness of the present president. Pitbulls with or without lipstick would not be as vicious- nor as stupid. And certainly not have as cynical handlers. Because Maverickiness is surely not about acting like decapitated chickens- squawking all over in a mass of feathers. And small town values has become a much sullied term- more so since Troopergate and AIP (but secession is patriotic) - gate and one does not know how many more gates, picket fences too are coming to light. Of course the reply to any accusation of incompetence is a "But you also…" – which is as much of a non-answer as possible. Even while certain portions of the country are called more pro-America than others- a forerunner perhaps to calling some people, some races more equal than others?

Breaking glass ceilings- I think NOT. Glass ceilings are not broken by throwing babies and pregnant teenagers at them. It only takes the Women's movement to pre-suffragette days. Because choice is not between epidural or C- section only. And choice is not something that the government makes even while reading a book written in the Bronze ages at you because that is the choice that the not so democratic regimes in the Eye-Racks and Eye-Rans are trying to impose on their women. Air quotes at a speech about women's health have taken a lot of flak since the third debate. But no one has really picked on the sneering at women that allowed a caricature of working womanhood – indeed of working personhood- with a hollow sketch filled with frothy rhetoric and style that grates like chalk on a black board- who quotes Hillary's 18 million cracks. THAT was the sneer at women. [For me choice or not is not a subject to be bandied about by three men. I believe "No Uterus No Opinion"]. And it was by one of our own. That is our tragedy.

   So now there is the Ay-rab, the Muslim(or cotton) with the kooky preacher (don't ask me how, unless Rev Wright is a closet Mullah- or maybe a snake charmer of something) with the elusive Bill Ayers (who is probably not so elusive, the man has a site and a very comment-enabled blog), which the patriots of America must fear. And while they are at it a witch hunt can be set up for the liberals who are elected members of congress- as this seemingly nice lady suggests- on national television no less{ Honey, its not only about the free publicity, Joe Public likes to hear what you say also}. It has to be stupidity because such stuff only for politics seems very cynical indeed- also based on the assumption that the people are ignorant. If nothing, that smacks of elitism. And carries on- there is a time span beyond an election. Nurturing a culture of fear is detrimental to all concerned- look to the Middle East to see what has happened; or in the so-called South Asia democracies where religious rhetoric and empty jingoism replace a real political discourse. Where hate is sown and destruction reaped. Democracy gives the common person a great deal of power- power that must be handled with as much responsibility.

    And income-based taxes are a good thing. It is Patriotic to pay as government needs to look after all the people. If Health is too important to allow a bureaucrat to decide (wasn't that the Reagan rhetoric), surely National security also needs be privatized- with hired mercenaries- why is it alright for tax money to be spent on bailouts to badly managed corporations, not for "populist" measures? Encouraging growth and expertise should not be at the cost of being a compassionate and humane society.

A past war record is very commendable, of course Michael Moore and Rolling Stone would dispute that- but it was service to the country. But it is not the qualifier for leadership of the free world- just as seeing Russia from Alaska is not a qualification for foreign expertise. Rather it is the building of personality cults the very anti-thesis that this old document wishes to establish.

And so to preserve democracy the people need to choose one, the right one - to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for common defense, promote general welfare……

A blessing of liberty to serve as the beacon for the world is needed.

JibJab - Time for Some Campaignin