It is presidential voting time again in the US.
A substantial minority have opted out of this process. If history runs consistent between 38 and 40% of America’s eligible voters will automatically (without even thinking about it) stay away from the polls. Voting appears not to be part of their culture and they obviously do not think the results touch them in a personal way. They feel their vote is meaningless, and they see the candidates as irredeemable liars not to be taken seriously. The behavior of this minority is not in doubt. There is another group of eligible voters. These are people who are regular voters, but are now so put off by their usual party candidate that they refuse to support him. They will either not vote at all or cast a vote for a minor third party. The level of disappointment with Barack Obama among progressives is very apparent. He has carried on his predecessor’s attack on civil liberties and continued the foreign policies , bailed out the banks instead of jailing the bankers, failed to fight for a public option to healthcare. And that is for starters.Barack Obama ended American occupation of Iraq only to shift resources to Afghanistan and escalates the use of drone warfare in various other foreign countries Obama is a profound failure.
So what to do? Seek out the third party, perhaps the Greens and vote for its candidate, Jill Stein, or follow the apathetic example and boycott the polls altogether? Is your choice between a candidate motivated by ideology such as Romney and one motivated by political pragmatism and the opportunism Obama ? There is a stir in the air. Something is changing but I don’t think that anyone can actually put their finger on it. People are just tired, tired and disgusted. They don’t seem to believe anyone or anything anymore. The trustful population of a sleeping nation is starting to realize that their trust was put into the wrong hands. What’s so sad about this situation is that people don’t want to wake up. They would rather close their eyes and dream on. But people have had so much taken from them in the last few decades, remaining asleep is no longer an option. The people have lost their homes, their jobs, their savings and much of their freedoms.
What can they do about it? Who can they vote for to put everything back together? The answer that the people are starting to figure out is that there is no one. Everything is controlled and manipulated by the very same people that created the problems. Corporations now run the nation. They serve their shareholders and no one else. They provide funds for every major political campaign in the United States.The answer people are now getting to their question of who to go to is that the only person that can help them change the reality of their daily lives is the one asking the question. The answer, the person to trust, the one who can right these wrongs society faces is themselves.
This is the beginning of revolution. The people have gone to the well once too often. The well is dry. A revolution starts with an awareness that things have gotten out of hand. No one revolts when everything is just great. Revolutions start when people find themselves with their backs against a wall. Revolutions start when there are no answers. Revolutions start when people lose hope. Many have no intention of accommodating corporate power whether it hides behind the mask of Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. How many more times do we want to be lied to by Barack Obama? What is this penchant for self-delusion that makes us unable to see that we are being sold into bondage? Why do we trust those who do not deserve our trust? Why are we repeatedly seduced? The promised closure of Guantanamo. Free public health care. Reforming the Patriot Act. Protecting the environmental. Restoring habeas corpus. Regulating Wall Street. Ending the wars. Creating jobs. Defending labor rights. How many more lies?
A substantial minority have opted out of this process. If history runs consistent between 38 and 40% of America’s eligible voters will automatically (without even thinking about it) stay away from the polls. Voting appears not to be part of their culture and they obviously do not think the results touch them in a personal way. They feel their vote is meaningless, and they see the candidates as irredeemable liars not to be taken seriously. The behavior of this minority is not in doubt. There is another group of eligible voters. These are people who are regular voters, but are now so put off by their usual party candidate that they refuse to support him. They will either not vote at all or cast a vote for a minor third party. The level of disappointment with Barack Obama among progressives is very apparent. He has carried on his predecessor’s attack on civil liberties and continued the foreign policies , bailed out the banks instead of jailing the bankers, failed to fight for a public option to healthcare. And that is for starters.Barack Obama ended American occupation of Iraq only to shift resources to Afghanistan and escalates the use of drone warfare in various other foreign countries Obama is a profound failure.
So what to do? Seek out the third party, perhaps the Greens and vote for its candidate, Jill Stein, or follow the apathetic example and boycott the polls altogether? Is your choice between a candidate motivated by ideology such as Romney and one motivated by political pragmatism and the opportunism Obama ? There is a stir in the air. Something is changing but I don’t think that anyone can actually put their finger on it. People are just tired, tired and disgusted. They don’t seem to believe anyone or anything anymore. The trustful population of a sleeping nation is starting to realize that their trust was put into the wrong hands. What’s so sad about this situation is that people don’t want to wake up. They would rather close their eyes and dream on. But people have had so much taken from them in the last few decades, remaining asleep is no longer an option. The people have lost their homes, their jobs, their savings and much of their freedoms.
What can they do about it? Who can they vote for to put everything back together? The answer that the people are starting to figure out is that there is no one. Everything is controlled and manipulated by the very same people that created the problems. Corporations now run the nation. They serve their shareholders and no one else. They provide funds for every major political campaign in the United States.The answer people are now getting to their question of who to go to is that the only person that can help them change the reality of their daily lives is the one asking the question. The answer, the person to trust, the one who can right these wrongs society faces is themselves.
This is the beginning of revolution. The people have gone to the well once too often. The well is dry. A revolution starts with an awareness that things have gotten out of hand. No one revolts when everything is just great. Revolutions start when people find themselves with their backs against a wall. Revolutions start when there are no answers. Revolutions start when people lose hope. Many have no intention of accommodating corporate power whether it hides behind the mask of Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. How many more times do we want to be lied to by Barack Obama? What is this penchant for self-delusion that makes us unable to see that we are being sold into bondage? Why do we trust those who do not deserve our trust? Why are we repeatedly seduced? The promised closure of Guantanamo. Free public health care. Reforming the Patriot Act. Protecting the environmental. Restoring habeas corpus. Regulating Wall Street. Ending the wars. Creating jobs. Defending labor rights. How many more lies?
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