People suck
In the movie Men In Black, the character Kay tells the character Jay why they keep the knowledge of aliens living on Earth a secret: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." I've always held this philosophy to be more or less true. A single person is generally somewhat smart, but get anymore than four people together and the average level of intelligence tends to trend down with each additional person involved. Of course, I usually take this one step further and just say that I hate people. I see no reason to mince words or give people the benefit of the doubt. People suck.
What does this have to do with anything? Other than the acknowledgment of one of life's few truths, not much. There is a tenuous connection, I suppose, to how I view this country's political process. Every time I watch a presidential debate comprised of nothing more than talking points and untrue statements, or watch a pundit espouse a political ideology, or see a woefully unqualified candidate give an interview, or anything really related to this election, I get angry. I get angry because people suck and are stupid idiots. This is the only way to explain why we must sit through 18 months of presidential campaigning.
I finally had a chance to watch the latest presidential debate. I have to say I was not that impressed by either candidate. Barack Obama at least came across as more presidential than McCain, but I was disappointed by Obama's determination that this was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. This kind of statement I consider fear-baiting and believe it not only unnecessary but beneath Obama. With the way things are going, the last thing the Democrats should resort to is trying to scare the crap out of people to get their vote. That's a Republican tactic and one of the reasons why I no longer support the party. I keep waiting for the inevitable movie-esque promo line for this economic downturn (it's disappointing to know that the movie trailer guy is dead, because he'd be perfect here) - The Great Depression Part II: Just as great, but twice as depressing!
As for John McCain, well, the least said about him the better. Unfortunately, I'm a little too verbose for my own good, so I'm going to say something anyway. I used to like John McCain. I wish he had won the Republican primary in 2000, as he would have made a much better president than Bush. Things never work out how we want though, and while McCain won his party's nomination this time around, he's not the same man he was 8 years ago. Now he's just a Bush in old, wrinkly, white man's clothing. There are a lot of things that McCain holds as an ideology that I don't agree with, but watching the debate, the thing that got me most was McCain's constant assertion that if we left Iraq now, it would be only admitting defeat, running away with our tail between our legs. Like somehow, McCain is going to pull out a victory, as if there is even some way of determining a victory in that place. I honestly wanted to reach through my TV screen and shake him. Iraq is not something where we can declare victory (by the way, Bush already did that many years ago, and I've yet to see an actual "victory" anywhere). As long as McCain believes this, he'll never win. So why does he keep saying it? It's simple: to inspire fear in people. To make people believe that if we leave Iraq, we'll have another 9/11. People are stupid, panicky animals after all; they'll gladly believe any lie you feed them if it makes them feel just a little bit safer.
People suck.
What does this have to do with anything? Other than the acknowledgment of one of life's few truths, not much. There is a tenuous connection, I suppose, to how I view this country's political process. Every time I watch a presidential debate comprised of nothing more than talking points and untrue statements, or watch a pundit espouse a political ideology, or see a woefully unqualified candidate give an interview, or anything really related to this election, I get angry. I get angry because people suck and are stupid idiots. This is the only way to explain why we must sit through 18 months of presidential campaigning.
I finally had a chance to watch the latest presidential debate. I have to say I was not that impressed by either candidate. Barack Obama at least came across as more presidential than McCain, but I was disappointed by Obama's determination that this was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. This kind of statement I consider fear-baiting and believe it not only unnecessary but beneath Obama. With the way things are going, the last thing the Democrats should resort to is trying to scare the crap out of people to get their vote. That's a Republican tactic and one of the reasons why I no longer support the party. I keep waiting for the inevitable movie-esque promo line for this economic downturn (it's disappointing to know that the movie trailer guy is dead, because he'd be perfect here) - The Great Depression Part II: Just as great, but twice as depressing!
As for John McCain, well, the least said about him the better. Unfortunately, I'm a little too verbose for my own good, so I'm going to say something anyway. I used to like John McCain. I wish he had won the Republican primary in 2000, as he would have made a much better president than Bush. Things never work out how we want though, and while McCain won his party's nomination this time around, he's not the same man he was 8 years ago. Now he's just a Bush in old, wrinkly, white man's clothing. There are a lot of things that McCain holds as an ideology that I don't agree with, but watching the debate, the thing that got me most was McCain's constant assertion that if we left Iraq now, it would be only admitting defeat, running away with our tail between our legs. Like somehow, McCain is going to pull out a victory, as if there is even some way of determining a victory in that place. I honestly wanted to reach through my TV screen and shake him. Iraq is not something where we can declare victory (by the way, Bush already did that many years ago, and I've yet to see an actual "victory" anywhere). As long as McCain believes this, he'll never win. So why does he keep saying it? It's simple: to inspire fear in people. To make people believe that if we leave Iraq, we'll have another 9/11. People are stupid, panicky animals after all; they'll gladly believe any lie you feed them if it makes them feel just a little bit safer.
People suck.
posted by Colin Crabtree | 12:52 PM
1 Comments:
Obama may not be completely off the mark when he speaks of this economic crisis as the largest, since The Great Depression. I will grant the fact that society is nothing like the society of the Depression era, so Obama becomes a bit hyperbolic in that regard. However, for the people who are below the poverty line, which range in the millions; it sure as hell feels as though this is a serious problem. Obama appeals to the reformers who want to work from the bottom-up, which is what has the conservatives biting their finger nails.
As for McCain, he speaks to the people who wanted to go to Iraq in 2003 and believe me they do in fact exist. These people were arrogant enough to support the government in the spreading of "American democracy", which is rich people code for money. As for McCain, he wants to play both sides. He wants to appeal to the conservatives who wanted to go to Iraq in the first place and appeal to the left over Clinton floaters, with his choice of Palin along with his "maverick" image(as if we haven't heard that enough).
People do indeed suck as a collective; they fall prey to fear, anger, and arrogance. Cornel West, a huge supporter of Obama's from the beginning; agrees that if you can find the cause of something you can stop it. Obama wants to do this with an urgency so that the American people can no longer suck as much as they have in the past.
You have great thoughts by the way!
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