I watched the State of the Union address. Believe it or not. I can hardly believe it myself. A large room full of our leaders, gathered to listen to our dully elected President tell us how things are going.
First thing they did was expel a guy from the House who held up a sign that bothered the folks on “The Right”, the ones that are presently in charge. There was no response to this from “The Left”. That should tell you something about “The Left”.
One thing struck me about this display of our political system. Aside from the President's insistence on behaving like this is reality T.V. and he's the star, using people, some of them very sad as props, and generally exhibiting a staggering disconnect from truth or reality, what struck me most was the Right/Left cohesiveness. these two sides are unitary; one side demonstrating unquestioning support for the President, and the other defined by it's opposition. Like a machine.
The unfortunate situation for those of us living under this government, this supposed democracy, is that this represents our choice. One or the other. Not a hopeful picture.
The “None of the Above” choice, while not on the ballot could,at some point, be a significant factor. In fact it is a factor in the sense that a large portion of the potential electorate chooses not to vote at all, and is essentially saying “none of the above”. My own choice to vote has always been a vote for the lesser of two evils rather than a vote for a proposition or candidate that I whole-heartedly supported.
What really sticks out to me in this false choice Right vs. Left game these people are playing is the cruelty that is being embraced by the President, and supported by the politicians on the right, and the political response of the opposition. They want to focus on “affordability”.
Are you kidding? Without even mentioning locking up thousands of people who's only crime is a desire to improve their lives by coming to our country, in conditions that the S.P.C.A. would shut down if you kept stray dog that way. What about USAID? The aid we were providing was one of the first things that this administration cut. Where are the God fearing Christians outraged by people forced to sleep on a cement floor with a tin foil blanket? Where are the voices raised about people being cut off from food aid that was authorized by our legislature, or life saving medications being cut off causing suffering and many deaths? Affordability? Is there a way to make this cruel, stingy loveless, corrupt, delusional, ignorant machine affordable? No problem!! Just pay with your soul.
That's probably enough of my rant on our political world. Maybe more than enough.
In other news,Barbed Wire Valentine will be appearing at The Big Easy in Petaluma on Thursday evening, April 16th. Thanks to Drew Pearce for including us in this show!