The Politics Of Politics

I recently watched an interesting exchange between some people on Facebook that spilled over onto some blogs. It was a political discussion that began when someone posed the question "[Facebook Member] is wondering if Obama voters/fans still have that 'hope'"

This loaded question was written by a harsh critique of Obama, who claims not to have voted for McCain or Obama in the last election.

Various people posted a response, but one in particular really stood out. I'm not going to quote the whole thing, just the meat of it, but the points made were:

1. I'm not going to get involved in a political discussion.
2. Political discussions involve too much 'drama.'
3. I'm sick of people bashing Bush all the time.
4. The American economy is not controlled by any one person (not Bush or Obama).
5. No one man (or presumably woman) can fix it.
6. Nuff said.

Now I have to say I take issue with some of these points. I chose not to respond in the forum of Facebook, because of the relationship involved, and the fact that my views would be blatantly offensive to some of the people involved. But this is my blog and I can say what the fuck I like here, without being polite.

So here are my issues with the above listed points:

1. Why begin a political statement with the preamble that you are not going to make a political statement, and then make one anyway?
2. I don't see why intelligent people cannot have a political discussion without becoming offended or defensive. I'll quite happily debate politics with anyone, and listen to any opinion, no matter how stupid it may be. But some people appear to have an inability to discuss matters intellectually without becoming emotional and irrational.
3. Three is a biggie for me. A lot of Republicans whine about how Bush has become the whipping boy for all that is wrong with society. But why shouldn't he be? He was a complete fuck up from beginning to end. A total moron put in a position he was not qualified or intelligent enough to hold. A good look at our society today, compared with the year 2000 gives a stark snapshot of the reality of this fact. George Bush took a big fat upper decker in our collective toilets and then flew back to Texas to enjoy his retirement. His utter incompetence will be felt by millions of people for many years to come. Some of the scars he left on this nation will never heal. I challenge anyone who claims we should leave poor old Mr. Bush alone to explain why he deserves such special treatment. Why should a man not be held accountable for his actions?
4. Granted no one man controls the economy, but a president who is making a string of catastrophically bad decisions can certainly drive the economy to the top of a cliff, let off the handbrake and leave it to roll down the other side. Just imagine how our economy might look if Bush had taken national security more seriously and prevented 9/11. Imagine if we never went to war with Afghanistan and Iraq. Imagine if he didn't rob from the poor and dump it on the richest people in the country. Imagine if he had maintained our infrastructure and built on the solid economic legacy of Clinton.
5. Well again, maybe it would not need fixing if someone hadn't fucked it up in the first place. But in any case it's pretty obvious old man McCain and his bag of tired more-of-the-same policies were not going to fix anything. Let's remember that this is the guy that followed up his decision to hire an idiotic bimbo as a running mate, by telling us all that the economy was in great shape fundamentally, while the aforementioned bimbo went around telling us who the 'real' Americans are. Thanks, but no thanks. It's hard to claim you are a man of change when you spent most of the last eight years kissing up to Bush and being a sell out.

I don't mean to be harsh here, but everyone has a patriotic duty to educate themselves about politics. Don't vote Republican because your parents did. Don't vote Democrat because your friends are. Learn to think for yourself, and vote accordingly.

I find it very irritating when people claim not to be interested in politics or are incapable of conducting an intelligent discussion about it.

Politics affects all of us here in America, and also our friends and enemies around the world. Look at the mess we are in right now and learn from that. Complacency and stupidity allowed George Bush to begin his reign of terror. Mark my words it can certainly happen again. You owe it to yourself to open your mind, and fill it with facts. Discuss politics with others, and don't get defensive when you are wrong. Consider that some of your opinions are wrong. Learn to evaluate new ideas, and evolve as a human. You owe it to yourself, and to every human on the planet. Our American President makes big decisions that affect billions of people, when we let an idiot make these decisions it causes horrific ramifications.