Reclaiming the Process

After two days of listening to the new GOP ticket of Romney and Ryan and seeing their blaring and complete lack of substance, it has put me into a sad state where I am trying to find a way to deal with the impending nonsense over the next couple months without getting sick to my stomach.

 Now, let me preface this with a statement to my Dem leaning friends that I am not a huge Obama guy. He obviously isn't responsible for the enormous mess he inherited, but I also feel that he has failed to deliver on the hope that inspired so many to vote for him. I think having a fair discussion about whether he warrants four more years is fair. No, we aren't in great shape. We are better now than we were three years ago (well, other than those of us in Wisconsin, but that has been covered) but could more have been done? Do we need to change paths? I don't know the answer but I think there is some fertile ground for discourse there. 

Instead, we are already being deluged with idiocy about patriotism and empty catch phrases attempting to obscure a proven history of policies that have failed repeatedly in the past and will fail moving forward. And what saddens me is that we continue to buy this rubbish.

So where does that leave us? We have a Republican agenda that will further widen the gap between the rich and the poor, hurt the elderly, the poor, education, the environment, etc. and a Democratic party that refuses to truly take a stand against the blatant hypocrisy (Russ Feingold excluded...thanks Russ). Anyway, what makes me sad is that once again, I am facing an election which is identical to pretty much every election of my lifetime (perhaps excluding the last one). ...one in which neither side has any real clue (or flat out doesn't care) about how to help the everyday American and/or is incapable of making a hard stand without playing the political pandering game.  One side doesn't care about everyday Americans (other than doing enough to get their vote) and the other won't upset the apple cart enough to get meaningful legislation passed (and believe me, the lines aren't as clear cut as I would like about which side is which). 

Neither Ryan nor the Dems has made any real attempt to work with the other side in Congress, making policy making virtually impossible and furthering our troubles, creating a blame infested system where winning has become more important than helping the common American. The term "compromise" has become a word foreign to both sides of Congress (as well of course to our governor here in Wisconsin...but again, I digress).

But, here is the thing,  I don't blame Mitt, nor Obama, nor even one of the worst presidents in American history (Dubya). How can this be? BECAUSE WE ALLOW IT BY SUPPORTING THEM. We support them by waving our flags and chanting USA and blaming the immigrants or the schools or the government (a government that we put there by the way) or the blacks or the poor (ie. lazy) or whomever is a convenient target, while the corporations and big money spend their way to election win after election win. Well guess what...patriotism isn't about chanting USA at your TV when the gymnastics team does a flip or Ryan makes some idiotic statement about going back to American values. Patriotism is about making sacrifices to your community. It is about the respect you have for your neighbors. It is how you treat the unwed teen mother. It is about what you do for your schools. It is about supporting your local law enforcement. It is about demanding social justice for political prisoners or those wrongly convicted, even when they may not share our beliefs. It is about letting people make their own choices about what they believe about marriage or religion without forcing our opinions on them. It is about allowing ALL citizens the chance to achieve the American Dream, regardless of where they were born, the color of their skin, the language they speak, or whom they choose to sleep with.

But sadly, these things don't really matter to those in power and every four years, we buy their rhetoric hook line and sinker and/or vote for the the one that scares us the most about, and then we complain when nothing changes (while blaming someone else). Wash...rinse...repeat. You can take Romney/Ryan's speech the other night, put it in front of Dubya, and you wouldn't notice a damn thing different.  I can honestly say that I believe that Obama was as close to we have come for someone who tried to make a real difference. Unlike Mitt and Ryan, I do think he has a soul. However, once he was in office, you see the same political compromises being made in an attempt to work within a corrupt system, compromises that in a perfect world, I would like to call Obama on. 

Unfortunately, I feel like I have no options: vote for a man that generally believes what I believe, but who hasn't gone far enough in terms of bucking the establishment (ie. big money), or vote for a man that is borderline unethical when it comes to policy. 

As a progressive, I know that if I am honest with myself, I am never going to agree with the Republican agenda, just as my conservative friends will never vote progressive, and that is ok. What is interesting to me is that I know that Michael Moore for instance blames the Dems more than the Republicans for basically not doing more to represent the true progressive agenda of social justice, fairness, education, helping the environment, etc. as opposed to trying to compromise to the middle and sacrificing many of these ideals in the process.  (Based on the shameful record of the GOP over the last decade or so, it says something that the Dems have not been able to take advantage of it.)

But, I do think it is fair to wish the American people would reclaim the process that we lost so long ago by not putting up the wealthy, compromised swindlers, hucksters, and con men that have typified our leaders during my generation.  And the only way we do this is by elevating our approach to the elective process...by asking real questions and requiring real answers...by demanding accountability of your party or candidate of choice in addition to your opposition...by educating yourself (at least in a rudimentary manner) about the issues and the record of the candidates on these issues (based on their actions, not on campaign rhetoric)...by removing big money and their massive impact on elections and public policy...by removing the pundits who drag the discourse further into the gutter with lies and fabrications...by voting with our hopes and dreams rather than our fears...for voting on policy and not image.

Going back to the Paul Ryan introductory speech a couple days ago, it reminded me an awful lot of the classic Cheers episode where Frasier decided to get Woody into the race for city council because the incumbant "didn't say anything." And to all of those blindly waving the American flag and cheering....YOU are the problem. YOU are the reason that these people get elected. Where does it stop? It is this unanswerable question which leads to my sadness as I begin to pass the keys to the world to my children.