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Edited on Wed Aug-22-07 02:11 PM by Joe Fields
If you've ever seen a beehive, then you know there's an orderliness to all of it's activity. And when a beehive gets poked with a stick or kicked, naturally the bees get agitated. Right now, most Americans are like upset bees. Little Georgie Bush, the spoiled bully of the block has poked us and kicked us every day, since he first took office. We are good and agitated. And, like a swarm of bees we chased him and stung him good in November of 2006. Or so we thought.
But we are still agitated. Here at DU the acrimony is palpable. I've been here a long time, and I've never seen us snapping at each other so early into an election season as we are now. It is for good reasons, too. We are being forced to back candidates in a horse race where all of the horses are lame. Not one single candidate is worthy or prepared to take on the numerous problems that this administration has caused. To my knowledge, no one has openly vowed, or signed a pledge to restore the balance of power between the three branches of government, nor have I heard them pledge to make environmental issues a top priority. In my opinion, their only saving grace is that they are somewhat better than the candidates on the other side. That's not a ringing endorsement.
But when it gets right down to it, they all work for the same people, and I'm not talking about you and me. They work for the corporatocracy that actually runs this country. And I think THAT, in a nutshell, is why we are so damned angry these days. We have been sold down the river by a bunch of con artists. We had a lot of high hopes when the dems took both houses of congress. Our high hopes turned out to be short lived. I thought impeachment was a sure thing. I thought we would hold strong against funding this war. And I thought our civil liberties would be vigorously defended. Still a little naive, I guess, after being on this earth 51 years. I'm a lot wiser now. Maybe it's the "Stockholm Syndrome." I suppose it's possible that democratic politicians in Washington had been held hostage for so long, that they began identifying with their captors, moreso than with their loved ones. But it hasn't taken long for us to realize that we are like the employee, whose boss invites us to a cocktail party, only to find out when we arrive that it was to work the bar, pouring and serving drinks to all of the very thirsty guests.
Why do we put up with all of this nonsense? Why have we bought into this dog and pony show? Why are we betting on lame horses? It's like what the habitual gambler said, when asked why he was playing cards in an obviously rigged game. "Because, it's the only game in town."
I'm sorry. I have tried to find reasons to back any of our candidates, but the stakes are too high, and the nation's ills are too many for any of them to rise to a needed level of competency, courage and conviction. That is why I have chosen to support Al Gore. And if Mr. Gore chooses not to run, I will write his name in, come primary day in my state. I know he isn't Superman, but he damned sure stands out above all the rest.
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