okay my 80 cents on the election:
voting matters. i'm an independent, the two-party alienates and disenfranchises many people in this country and i therefore do not wholely support it. i also consider myself relatively radical (to the left), but i am also pragmatic. certainly the government won't get their hands dirty in the community sustainability actions that matter to me, but there are several significant federal legislations dealing with reproductive rights, gay rights, immigration rights, foreign policy, etc that do effect the rights and abilities we currently have in our country, and creating better policies for many underserved people in this country. while the heads of these acts fall under the eyes of judicial system (which currently leans conservative), having an executive office with a conservative agenda on par or greater than that of the judicial system only jeopardizes the more liberal policies currently in place at an even higher risk of being nullified, as well as making new, improved policies on immigration/foreign/environmental affairs more difficult to obtain. so yes, having barack obama as the next president of the united states is critical in my book when it comes to maintaining many of these rights.
voting is not just about the presidential election. state elections, in many ways, are even more important for people who are focused on their communities' sustainability. state legislature has a stronghold on the civil liberties we have/fight for, as seen in proposition 8 in california. no one said you had to fill out every section on the ballot, but you have the choice, the option, the right, the privilege to have a voice in what matters on a federal as well as local ballot. for a country that is so pressed on it's citizens believing they are owed or entitled to something and if the government doesn't provide it, then it fails. that's just laziness.
i don't think obama will be able to immediately solve many of the issues that plague this country, whether he says he will or not. no one in my lifetime has been able to mobilize, motivate, and engage as many youth as obama has in the past two years--not just youth, or even the underserved, but a mass population. that strikes something in me; to see so many people become involved and aware of politics and community, whether it's askew in liberal policy, whatever, i'd like to think that that would make people more interested and motivated to take more critical views of our societies, our politics, our environments and see what they can do to make it better and themselves. there are enough people in this country who can speak and act within their communities to make them safer and more sustainable that we should be able to create these changes ourselves and not rely on the government. we don't expect hand-outs by the upper-class because it would be condescending, so why use that same "the government doesn't give a shit about us" as a reason to be apathetic?
a great deal of my extended family is republican and supportive of mccain. i don't ever aim to change people's minds and debate on for whom they should vote. however, and this could be said to any person in the united states, whatever view they support, be educated in your decisions. most of this country suffers from ignorance on politics and economics and blindly looks at the superficial, mass media projections. one thing that isn't just in the "i go to a small liberal arts college" but also in the punk/diy/radical community is the wearing of keffiyehs. does it even have a symbol of solidarity or has it lost that symbolism and become purely a fashion trend? this question has bothered me for months, but seems to be more prevalent now simply because there's more capitalist exposure. but let's save that argument for another time.
my cousin believes obama will make the United States a socialist country. WRONG. it already is. surprise! our modern economic (keynesian) endorses government intervention, because pure laissez-faire economics (classical) proved to not work (see the great depression). a market-driven economy is inherently unstable. after the great depression, FDR instituted the New Deal in attempt stabilize our economic system. mccain likes fdr. fdr was criticized as a socialist (and continues to be). however, without him (and without WWII, honestly), our economic system would have failed for a much longer time until the government intervened. public goods, social services, etc. are all redistributive and allocative functions of the government are policies that have until now really kept our country from suffering a massive economic crisis. the government bailed out the banking system. the government now owns part of the banking system. there are socialist elements in our economic structure, and now we actually get to see how many of these elements play critical roles in stabilizing our economy. it wouldn't really make much of a difference who was in charge.
as i sat with my roommates after the announcement was made of obama's victory, one commented that she didn't get why the news harped on "the first black president." i must remind myself that obama will be the first black president, because ethnicity was not a priority for me in this election. i think for most liberal, mid-atlantic/new englanders, even those on the west coast, we forget (or attempt to suppress) that the subject of ethnicity is HUGE for many people in this country, be it in the African American community or elsewhere, a positive or negative factor in voting choice. my friend jen said, "there is so much about having a black role model in the white house that is completely awesome and is really important for our country. tons of my friends (especially teachers who work with low income kids) have been telling me about students and their indescribable reactions/faces when talking about obama. it's not just that he is black but that he is also in touch with reality, at least far more than the GOP dudes." and it's true. in north carolina, more african americans voted on monday morning than cumulatively in the 2004 election. just 50 years ago most african and west indian americans couldn't exercise their rights to vote. is racism over? no, nowhere close. but this election is monumental in our history for too many reasons.
today i am proud to be a citizen of the united states. we certainly have a long way to go, and the regulations bush currently attempts to hustle into our legislature make it an even steeper, uphill battle. still, the people of our country mobilized. change will come by our own hands, as well as the government's.
MONDAY'S RECAP!
amanda and emily stopped by and talked with me a bit about our halloween weekend (which, by the way, RULED! check out photos on my flickr...) and the election. here's the playlist!
1) A Speculative Fiction- Propagandhi
2) What Separates Us All- Smoke Or Fire
3) America Got It Right- Anti-Flag
4) Kanye West Was Right- In First Person
5) Paragraph President- Blackalicious
6) Divine Intervention- Shambhala
7) Sunset on 32nd Street- Strike Anywhere
8) Resent & Resistance- Polar Bear Club
9) Peace, Justice, & Anarchy- Ryan Harvey
10) Fireball or "What I Learned From TV"- Spoonboy
11) The Yellow Walkie Talkie- Endless Mike and the Beagle Club
12) Can't Change Everything- 1905
13) When Nice People Think Dumb Things, Attack, and Vote- Armalite
14) He Lied About Death- Stars
i totally leave for costa rica in two months.
4 comments:
it might just be that I think the worst of my fellow man (myn) but I don't think people are politically aware at all. Blacks voted Obama because he is one of them. A lot of whites voted for him to not look racist. People are too caught up in the way they look and McCain's inability to raise his arms.
Everyone is superficial and racist. No exceptions.
the majority of people are not informed. you could say that about politics, science, art, whatever subject. a lot of people only researched obama or mccain and didn't really look into the opposing party to compare. howard stern did a survey asking people who they were voting for and asked if they believed in the opponent's agenda (titled as person supported's politics) and most people didn't know. but some people are aware, just not enough.
if someone said "i voted for mccain because he's white" then it is automatically deemed a racist comment, but not for obama? ethnicity should not be THE reason to vote for someone, but it is a reason that was factored in for many people in this election who swayed toward obama. but what was the major terminology of his campaign? CHANGE and HOPE. will it happen? many of us are skeptical. but there's a chance, right? record numbers of non-whites voted in this election, and SURPRISE also transcended all economic levels. HOWEVER, at least in Baltimore, the major african american media (specifically radio) outlets have tried really hard to make information and resources available about obama and his platforms and the presidential election. millions of people made uninformed decisions about the election, EVEN MORE uninformed about state legislation, which is something even more pressing in our daily lives.
also, something i learned in high school: most low-income communities don't have strong, "positive" role models in their communities. those who are successful in education, who raise their status, often abandon their communities and disown them. hence, the "positive" role models in low income communities turn into crews, gangs, dealers, etc, because they have leaderhsip roles (especially male) in the community. obama spent a good deal of his campaign promoting his roots and connections to those communities. call it a media ploy, but certainly his presence made an impact to those communities.
obama is our generation's jfk. in reality, jfk didn't do much in legislative policy (granted he was assassinated 2 years into his term), but is still one of the most iconic us presidents in history. he was the first catholic, second youngest to hold office, and a monumental orator. i'd like to think obama will be able to do more in his presidency thank jfk (and live beyond it, as well), but we don't know yet. he has to prove himself, and we certainly have a lot to come back from from the damage done over past eight years. but i think we have a better chance at getting better as a country now than we did without him, and a great deal of the country thinks so, as well.
a friend of mine said today "democracy was originally viewed as a TERRIBLE form of government because it was insanity to think that you could trust mob rule. the reason? a lot of people in a lot of societies wouldn't make good decisions given that power. democracy, for as lofty and idealistic as it is, is not conducive to every population. sorry." the statement is somewhat out of context but the point is people are either not properly informed or make decisions based on their idealistic values. for the most part, this will not change. but people also vote with the hope. people physically, mentally, emootionally are invested in their communities, their beliefs, and those will lead people to make their judgements and their choices more than anything else.
"ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
"the road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep...there will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. and, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in america for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand...so let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other."
I am not reading this response, sorry. I talked to you about this in person. I was vomiting my thoughts and they probably were well thought out.
Everyone is racist and i will stand by that.
I speak for myself (Trey) and not for all ICDT. I'm sure they'd say something a lot more thought out.
weren't*
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