Politics?!

I've never been much interested in politics, and even less in discussing them. In general, I feel like I should keep my mouth shut, since I rarely pay enough attention to know what I'm talking about. Especially with politics, I know that's dangerous - far too easy for people to want to argue, and I'd need to be able to back myself up. (Also, I really hate arguing with people - although sometimes what I call a debate people think is an argument.)

That's changed a bit lately - mostly because the temp job I'm working right now is pretty slow, so I've been spending a lot of time at this fun new site I found called Newser. Well, it might not be that new, but it is pretty darn cool. They go through all the major media sources, and then summarize the major stories in 2 paragraph blurbs, updating constantly throughout the day. It makes it really easy to keep on top of what's going on in the world - and the front-page layout is pretty darn cool. I've spent most of my time over the past couple of weeks with Newser up in the background, checking it periodically for updates - which means I officially know more now about current events (particularly the election race) than I have ever known before.

Which basically means, right now, that I'm left wondering why in the world so many people in our country still think McCain is a good candidate. I admit, I usually wonder why people think that the Republican candidate is a viable option, but this year I actually like the Democratic candidate, rather than just despising the Republican one.

Still, here is the main reason I think Obama is the better choice:
He has a better grip on the world as it is today - I firmly believe that the US needs to wake up and smell the coffee - we're not the only country in the world, and we have to accept the fact that we need to learn how to work together with the rest of them. Back to Kindergarten - learn how to share, and that the world - amazingly enough - doesn't revolve around us! I don't think McCain has any idea of how to function in a country that isn't the main power in the world.

A lot of articles lately have been talking about the US response to 9/11, and I know that the general feeling was that we needed to get back at the people who'd attacked us, and defend our country. I understand that, and I totally agree that we needed to retaliate against those who attacked us, to show that we weren't going to put up with that. Still, I really think a lot of people (particularly Up Top) missed the boat - along with that, we needed to fix the underlying cause - the reason why they felt they needed to attack us. It wasn't that they're just evil people - they thought they had a real reason and need to do so; however misguided we might think that to be, I've always believed that you need to understand the motive to be able to really solve the problem. And I'm pretty darn sure that the motive behind that was largely caused by a truly terrible world opinion of our country - with a fair amount of justification.

The opinion the world has of us has only gotten worse over the past 8 years, and I certainly understand - there have been many times when I've felt ashamed of my country and our actions - and do you know how embarrassing it is to travel abroad while the rest of the world knows that your country is being run by a complete idiot? This is not the sort of climate into which we can elect someone like McCain - we need someone who is willing to work with others, seek compromises, and do his level best to improve our country - both internally and our relationships with the rest of the world.

Why is this so necessary? We're facing a number of world crises - the economic crises we're facing is being faced by most of the major countries in the world as well. People have been talking about the environment and population crises for decades, and it's not like they've gone away, either. Everyone is talking about energy - guess what, we've had it really good in the US up until recently, and we're still in better shape than a lot of other countries. People talk about drilling for more oil - guess what, folks, there is a limited supply. I don't care if estimates say there's enough oil off-shore to run all the cars in the US for 50 or 60 years - it's still only a temporary solution. Sure, a lot of the people voting this year will be dead by then, so maybe they just don't care - but I'm pretty sure I'll still be around, and I do. (Also, it's a really ruddy stupid idea to just focus on what's good for your generation - I'm pretty sure that's a lot of what's gotten us into this mess in the first place)

We need to find alternative sources of energy, and we need to promote the development of those we've already found. I know this is a major task - it's going to involve a change of our entire infrastructure, and probably a major societal change in how we think about the world. I don't expect this to happen in the next 4 years, or even the next 20, but I believe it is something that needs to happen, and we need to start working on it as soon as we can.

Aside from all that, though, I think one of the major things that needs to change is how people think. The idea that every man is out for himself, and you need to do everything you can for yourself and your family needs to change. By all means, support your family to the best of your ability, try to make life better for them - but don't forget about the rest of the world. People need to get used to the idea of thinking of themselves, their family, every group they belong to, as being only a part of the whole - and we need to get all those parts working together. I'm not sure that's something that we're really capable of at this point - I know that you can't define one group without being able to define something it isn't - but I think it's something we need to work towards, and not just say 'oh, wouldn't it be nice if we all got along'.

Maybe I'm an idealist, or overly optimistic, but I believe that we can do this, if we all make up our minds to do so. And as far as the election goes - I know McCain has more experience, but he looks like a total idiot up there against Obama, and I think all of McCain's experience is in a world that doesn't really exist anymore - he's not in tune with how it's changing, and that makes him a dangerous man to put in charge.




Incidentally, another cool site is 270toWin - shows you who would probably win the election if it were held today, and lets you play around with the electoral votes. Check it out!