Election Day: the nadir of participatory democracy
Whether or not you stop by your local polling place tomorrow, and regardless of who gets or doesn't get your vote, keep these two things in mind:
1) From what is known, and from what can be reasonably assumed and inferred, a second Bush term is the worst of all possible worlds.
2) Voting in a national election is the bluntest and most detached method of creating political change. Recognize that while we pat ourselves on the back for skipping an episode of Dr. Phil once every four years to squeeze our fat lazy asses into a voting booth, American policy is a life-and-death matter to millions and millions of people around the world. I don't think I need to tell you that the Democrats and Republicans sound strikingly similar notes on many issues. We need to stop feeling good about being part of an oasis of "democracy" and start reclaiming that word from the elite, arrogant rulers who pander for our attention every thousand days or so.
1) From what is known, and from what can be reasonably assumed and inferred, a second Bush term is the worst of all possible worlds.
2) Voting in a national election is the bluntest and most detached method of creating political change. Recognize that while we pat ourselves on the back for skipping an episode of Dr. Phil once every four years to squeeze our fat lazy asses into a voting booth, American policy is a life-and-death matter to millions and millions of people around the world. I don't think I need to tell you that the Democrats and Republicans sound strikingly similar notes on many issues. We need to stop feeling good about being part of an oasis of "democracy" and start reclaiming that word from the elite, arrogant rulers who pander for our attention every thousand days or so.
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