One god, one market, one truth, one consumer…
*Disclaimer: This is one of the times where I get completely off topic and go in a thousand different directions. However, it’s good food for thought, probably a three course meal at that. I apologize for any grammatical errors you may encounter, and I appreciate any input beforehand. *
we can live with no regrets
this ride's not over yet
stand together, if not we fall
stand together, if not we fall
how can we change the paradigm of social caste
when the victims are the same ones who slave for the corporations
this episode's resolving and we can change it
a revolution's calling and i'd like to think that i'm not alone
are we all alone in this?
- VCG3
I had a scary thought today. Scary because I’ve never envisioned the scenario. Scary because it’s probably the best thing to do. Scary because…I thought about voting for John Kerry.
Since I first saw the man on television, even before he became the clear Democratic contender, I wanted to punch him in the face. He sickened me. As much as I believed Howard Dean was a madman, I was kind of hoping he won the nomination so I could have funny stuff to write about daily. Back then, I didn’t believe anyone could even try to run against Bush, but the past few months have been quite interesting.
But see, something strange happened after I saw Hero a few weeks ago. I came out of the movie a little upset at the fact that our current society, just as in feudal China, sometimes needs peace to be enforced. If there is anyone who thinks they understood the movie, then I expect them to have realized that Bush should remain President. But something didn’t sit well with me because I had just gotten done reviewing some information on the 9/11 Commission, which Bush was reluctant to endorse, and how they were never even responsible for investigating the incident itself. The purpose of the Commission was to help the government establish safer guidelines and protective measures to ensure that nothing like 9/11 happened again. I also read up on some things about Kosovo, predating the Bush administration, but still pertinent because it shows a trend.
The thing that’s always intrigued me about the Bush Administration is how they stopped the impending doom that should have come during recession. Our economy should still be in a gutter to compensate for the tech boom of the late 90s, but it isn’t. When I became interested in economics, the first thing I did was chart out America’s business cycle. GW’s economic policies, just like those of Reagan, are based on supply side economics and is easily the least conservative of any fiscal plan, but it also creates a minimum amount of recession. Both party platforms are way too vague in their effort to show how they will combat a looming recession., but I’d say that Bush will continue to push consumer spending as he calls for the industrial sector to spread itself thinly to compensate for demand. Ah, and here’s the kicker -- people are lacking confidence to spend their hard earned money, so the industrial sector may end up collapsing on itself in the long run.
I remember my US History teacher Mr. Connors explaining the idea of ‘the chalice and the sword.’ Few people ever paid attention in that class, but it was the highlight of my day because I learned to apply what he said to my life, not just to history in general. ‘The sword’ is the forceful nature of a personal worldview when it is imposed on others -- it assess value, it takes what it feels is valuable, and it destroys what it feels is invaluable. ‘The chalice’ is the concept of mutual understanding -- it shares it’s insight, and it creates a sense of belonging.
Of course, Mr. Connors never gave us the definitions I just wrote out, but he taught me how to form the definition for myself because that is the beauty of a worldview, the beauty of a critical and balanced look at the world around us.
I always thought America was great because here, we can agree to disagree. But when people start getting all ass hurt because we aren’t united under the same superficial values, I start to doubt whether they have any idea what country they are in. It’s almost as if we’re barely holding onto the illusion that our country is still true to the vision of those who laid it’s foundation. Do we really have that good of an understanding of the democratic system to foster it’s growth in a foreign land? This is not to say that I’m against the use of force to remove obstacles towards a resolution, but I do not agree with the notion that America brings freedom through the enforcement of democracy. Have we not learned from our mistakes with Salvador Allende and Ho Chi Minh? We launched a war on communism, and we vowed to remove it’s evils from this world, from a free world. But look, they won, they overran South Vietnam after a 1973 cease-fire agreement. What did all those men and women (US, South Korean, Australian, Thailand, New Zealand, VC) die for? I’ll be the first to admit, I really don’t know shit about Vietnam because I never lived through it, but I find it hard to believe that this world, THIS free world gained more than it lost…mothers, fathers, children…conversations about the future and the awe of being alive.
For a country supposedly under god, I wonder if any god would smile upon us right now. Over and over gain, people mistake blind allegiance in their gods, government, and selves as a righteous faith, as loyalty. Religious faith is the most dangerous of all, we all understand what it can do, yet we allow ourselves to fall into the same trap. True faith is not rooted in some sacred mystery or book, but in how we live our lives. If you choose to do so, your entire life can be a prayer without ever having to set foot inside a ‘sacred’ space because your entire being can encompass a sacred space. Even greater is the awareness that your personal sanctity can be spread amongst the people you interact with, and could quite possibly go beyond that. Once you free yourself, it becomes a lot easier to free the people around you. I’m starting to sound like a pretentious asshole now, so I’ll spare you before I say something totally relevant to anything, or anyone.
I know who I will vote for in November, even though I am a confrontational pacifist just wanting a quiet, peaceful dance…the structure is set, you never change it with a ballot pull.