Tuesday, September 09, 2008

I don't feel good about this election

Warning: political angst ahead.

Since some of you have asked, the answer is no, I don't feel good about this election. I have been trying to conjure up a good post to sum up my thoughts in some kind of snarky yet insightful way. But I've been too sad, disenchanted, angry, bitter, etc., etc. to write anything.

The sad thing though, is something Rob and I have been talking about for quite some time. We (Rob and I) will be fine. Our lives won't change. We have the unfair fortune of being in the upper tiers of income-earners in this country these days. Our tax cut from Obama would be pennies, while our tax cut from McCain would be a nice bit more. Frankly, I'd love to have that much more money to pay down our mortgage each year.

But.

And this is a big BUT.

We (Rob and I) are not the people I'm worried about. We will be able to afford to move to a less polluted part of the country. We will be able to buy our own healthcare. Our house is not in any danger of being foreclosed on. We can afford $9 gas like they have in many parts of Alaska. (Seriously, they do.) If we needed an abortion for whatever reason, we could fly to Europe if it were outlawed here. We are skilled professionals in not-collapsing industries, so if either of us lost our job, we could be supported by the other without much economic stress. We will be able to afford to pay for our kids ginormous education costs if public schools fall apart even further. We will be able to care for extended families as they age. We will have money waiting for us in retirement. And on and on.

Because we are damn lucky ducks.

Which is exactly why I'm not voting for my short-term financial interests. And that's all they are, short-term. I don't want want to be a lucky person in a crappy country. For eight years, we've watched so many Americans lose everything, including their ability to pay for anything, through no fault of their own. We've watched a generation of kids grow up in poverty without even batting an eye at the fact that they have crumbling homes, no healthcare, no quality education, and no opportunities for a better life. They're the ones who can't afford four more years. And let's get real here, McCain has voted with the Bush Administration 90% of the time these past four years. Change that ain't.

So I say raise my damn taxes. What good is America if America isn't any good? And America isn't any good if it isn't good to its people. Being a POW doesn't make you qualified to be president. Being a great speaker doesn't qualify you to be president either. Frankly, I'm irritated at every single person out their who acted like Obama's speeches alone should have won him the nomination. It's actually been hard for me to keep that irritation at bay lately. Maybe that's unfair, but it's true. Because we don't have that luxury. All that time talking about the damn speeches was a big waste of time that could have been spent talking about the fact that he has really good, critical ideas for turning our country around.

Yet I haven't seen any coverage of the issues in days. And if all we're judging on is who has the better theme going, let's face it, POW trumps speaking abilities. So I don't feel good about this election. Shame on the media. Shame on all of us for not demanding better and more. Now it might be too late.

If the Dems can't win this one, with the regrets of 2000 and 2004 so close behind us, welcome to third-rate status, America. Even though it won't change my life damn one bit, I'm still traumatized at the thought.

So now what? Well, I don't know. I know I'll be heading to a swing state for the days before the election. I know that even though I'm fully prepared to be beaten down for the third time in eight years, I'm not going down without a fight. I care too much. Not about me, but about this insane country we have here. And if that's not patriotism, I don't know what is. I want our country to be so much better than it is these days, not because I don't love it, but because I love it so much it hurts.

But it's this one and then I'm out. If this election doesn't work, I really don't know if I can do it again.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amen amen amen.