Saturday, August 7, 2010

Sometimes Politics Just Puts Me in a Mood

There are times when I feel a sense of helplessness. When I look at the looming elections come this November, I feel it particularly acutely. I have little faith in Democrats right now. If anything, the last year and a half have shown me that there is little spine within that party. There is insufficient discipline and virtually no willingness to stand up to enemies.

Meanwhile, I trust the Republicans like I trust a mugger on a street. There is no doubt in my mind that they care for anyone whose income is below six figures (unless it is to scare the right people into voting for them). That they have continued the lie that they care for the majority of Americans speaks of their political character. However, I cannot help but look and listen incredulously at people who I think (yes, I wrote it) should run as far away from Republican "policies" as possible. But then, I realize that if I were voting my aspirations, as opposed to my reality, then perhaps I too would return to the GOP.

Going back to my occasional feeling of helplessness, I must say that when I look at Republicans and conservatives in the news, or read their words, I am stunned that anyone actually believes anything that they have to say. Yes, Democrats are bad, but not as bad as Republicans, in my estimation. There seems to me a quiet glee that the nation remains on its knees economically. There seems a callousness toward those who are suffering that feels obscene, and a simpering to those with money that seems just ghastly.

Perhaps the truth of the matter is that few of our elected officials and civil servants actually care about the average American. Perhaps another truth is that the average American is so beleaguered that they no longer have the will to fight. In the end, I feel like it's either support the weak willed or the sycophantic liar. That is a bitch of a choice.

By the way, the two things that I read that really put me in this mood are here and here.

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