Sunday, October 26, 2008
The times, they are a-changin'
Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, or who you intend to vote for in the upcoming election, one thing is certain, this is not the America any of us have known during our time on this planet. It has been decades since our country was in this level of financial distress, and it has been 40 years since we were last in a war which proved to be as prolonged and costly as Iraq has become. Life and our national direction seem so uncertain. The future looks like a rather bleak affair, but there are reasons to be optimistic.
From great adversity rises the catalysts for a new generation of social movers. It is nearly impossible to motivate masses of people toward change without a calamity, or collective hardship, to properly focus their perspectives. We now have such a calamity and it is undeniable to anyone with any sense. The last time our country faced such stress was following the terrorist attacks of September 11th. The country stood up and took notice. No one could deny the power of what we had all seen, and there was no debating, something had to be done. Unfortunately, George W Bush systematically squandered that sense of communal unity by recklessly chasing a political agenda based on ideology and hubris, rather than humbly, intelligently, strategically moving forward toward a real solution. He failed, but I am fairly confident neither of the men running for President will ignore the lesson of Dubya and conduct themselves with such arrogance. Maybe I am giving these men too much credit, but I think there is reason to believe that both men would lead their cabinets in a way that would not take the country down a similar path of shamefully shortsighted action.
This time, the war will be financial, but it will also be spiritual. I am not talking about god or souls, I am talking about the country's collective spirit. There is a real chance, depending on how skillfully, honestly, and surely the country moves through this mess over the next several years, that America could fail. Greed could bring the once mighty giant down to the level of a fractured, expansive, banana republic. A strong argument can be made that we are already there, but it is not yet too late to take a turn in a new direction. What it will take is real leadership in government, but also real effort on the part of the constituency.
We are on the precipice of a very real recession. Given the borrow and spend mentality which has defined this country's government and its people, no one should be surprised that we have dug this massive hole together, but we do not have to acquiesce and resign ourselves to being buried. Each of us must take on a higher level of personal responsibility. Collectively, we have to understand that leadership matters, that people matter, that we matter. Our choices in the years to come will determine the course of history and could have repercussions that extend far beyond the next generation.
If we do not come together, if we do not put aside the innumerable, insignificant differences used to divide us, we will ultimately fail, and the next generation will suffer immensely for it. The economy is going to shrink and shrivel, we will all be forced to make sacrifices, but in many ways, we will be coming back to Earth after 3 decades of living in a fantasy land. But this is all common knowledge. Barack Obama and John McCain both agree on this, so the differences between them are rooted in the "how" we get there. This is good and as it should be, since those differences will lead to debate and compromise, which will keep both sides honest.
And honesty is paramount, if we are to make any real progress. Americans have to be honest with themselves, and they have to demand - not hope, or request, but demand - that the government is honest as well. Whoever wins the White House must be required to be honest, but they must also keep America honest. If they fail to meet those obligations, we will descend into an abyss from which we might not return as a functional nation. I believe that much is at stake over the next decade.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Blocked up
Lots of things to write about, seemingly no ability to write about it. Lots of things I should be drawing and putting color to, seemingly no ability to create. Right now, life is a lot of running in place, watching the world convulse, and hoping the ship holds together long enough for most of us, if not all, to make it over the next crest safely. The problems before us are so large they surpass the imagination's ability to fully grasp them, but at the same time, seem so simple that their enormity is almost laughable.
In so many ways, we have paid more than we make as a culture for decades and finally, those plump, juicy, diseased hens have come home to roost. We wanted it all and we wanted it now, and like Jim Morrison, the foundation of our being finally succumbed into a heap. When I talk about we, I am talking about the entire, collective we. The problems we face are bigger than the narrow visions of nationalism, and broader than the modern concept of globalism. The drive to greed and gain and power that have started every war, poisoned so many minds, and fueled nearly all of our illusory divisions, has been with us nearly from our earliest days. And as we have seen, it is not going anywhere anytime soon.
And what are we to do about it? There is no easy answer, obviously. What is not so obvious to some, is that there may be no answer whatsoever. The intangible change we need may be beyond our grasp, and beyond our common mind's ability to embrace. Greed and gratification, how many words have I typed or spoken aloud whining about, condemning, or contemplating those things? After all of that chatter and brain cycling, all I have come to understand is just how far away I am from transcending these things and how vulnerable my own life and sense of well-being is to the greed and selfishness of others. That's not to say the situation is entirely hopeless, but with so few reasons to be optimistic, it is nearly impossible to deny the dreariness of the current landscape. We are living in a world painting by Van Gogh, written by the Marquis de Sade, and narrated by Salvador Dali.
For better or worse, this is home.
DLZ by TV On the Radio
Congratulations on the mess you made of things;
On trying to reconstruct the air and all that brings.
And oxidation is the compromise you own
But this is beginning to feel like the dog wants her bones
saved
You force your fire then you falsify your deeds
Your methods dot the disconnect from all your creeds
And fortune strives to fill the vacuum that it feeds
But this is beginning to feel like the dog's lost her lead
This is beginning to feel like the long
winded blues of the never
This is beginning to feel like it's curling up slowly
and finding a throat to choke
This is beginning to feel like the long
winded blues of the never
Barely controlled locomotive consuming the picture
and blowing the crows, the smoke
This is beginning to feel like the long
winded blues of the never
Static eplosion devoted to crushing the broken
and shoving their souls to ghost
Eternalized. Objectified.
You set your sights so high.
But this is beginning to feel like
the bolt busted loose from the lever
Never you mind
Death professor
Your structure's fine
My dust is better
Your victim flies so high
All to catch a bird's eye view of who's next
Never you mind
Death professor.
Love is life,
My love is better.
Eyes could be the diamonds
Confused with who's next
Never you mind
Death professor.
Your shocks are fine,
My struts are better.
Your fiction flies so high,
Y'all could use a doctor
Who's sick, who's next?
Never you mind
Death professor.
Electrified, my love is better
It's crystallized, so am I.
All could be the diamond
Fused with who's next
This is beginning to feel like the dawn of a loser forever
This is beginning to feel like the dawn of a loser forever
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
John McCain as part of the Keating Five
I was just a kid when the SnL collapse at Lincoln Savings stuck the US taxpayer with a $3.4B tab, so I wasn't aware of John McCain's direct involvement with the scandal. Apparently, ol' John took a substantial amount of money, and enjoyed some personal time, with Charles Keating, who most people agree is little more than a piece of shit with legs. I suppose, if McCain-Palin can insinuate that Obama is a terrorist sympathizer, I suppose it's fair that Obama-Biden respond by letting us know that McCain has a certain amount of sympathy for the types of people that destroyed the financial services industry.
I wish it hadn't come to this, but when the McCain campaign made the decision to start using "smear tactics", they left Obama's campaign with little choice. You take the high road and fail to respond, the idiots on TV starts ranting about "weakness". On the other hand, if he goes on full offensive, he gets dragged into the pool of shit McCain and Palin are piling up around themselves, which ultimately does him nothing but harm. This seems to be an attempt at going up the middle, and the statements made are supported by the historical record, which is very important. This is how the Republicans do things, so there are times when a Democrat or Independent has to step up and fight fire with fire. Unlike Palin's accusations, the assertions made in the video are supported by facts, which is always nice...
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Sarah Palin debate flowchart
Thought this was funny. :)From Pheer and Loathing via BoingBoing. 
Bonus item: Sarah seems more attractive as a candidate, now that I know she has holy protection against witchcraft! Is Barack Obama protected from witchcraft? Who knows? Just one more way the man is a dangerous unknown!!
I'm waiting for the video of her church dancing with snakes. :)