Fear more years

[elfs]

No, no news today. If you want to look up the attempt by the Pentagon to cover up the loss of 350,000 kilos of extremely efficient chemical explosives, you can go to Google News or Reuters or whatever.

I'm just tired. Goddess, the stress level in my house is high enough these days without the election being on our minds, the constant fear that the chimp is going to win and we'll be facing... what?

Four years from now, Bush's supreme court will have overturned Roe v. Wade and affirmed Bowers v. Hardwick: abortion will be illegal, and homosexual activities inside one's own home will be felonious conduct. The inclusionary doctrine of the Bill of Rights will be overturned and state governments will be free to adopt state religions, ban speech they deem offensive, the whole litany. Meanwhile, within the federal government, fiscal policy will be made in secret by corporations and social policy will pander to a concrete religious base that maintains intolerance *is* a holy tenant.

Of course, with Kerry, the whole DRM thing will continue, and there's no promise that student's right to use the GPL, which the Democratic Senator from Microsoft has tried to ban before, will survive four years with either party. His health care plan scares the gizzard outta me.

I'm a big believer in mixed government. Kerry is only up on Bush by 4% in Washington as of the latest polling rounds, which sucks because if it had been bigger I'd've voted for Badnarik. Omaha wants to discourage me from voting for Badnarik anyway because she's dismayed by the platform entry that states he'd bring the troops home immediately; well, that's a consequences of principles and principle number one is that the United States government has no business getting involved in foreign adventures that are not explicitly defensive. And I doubt things in Iraq could get "much worse" than they are now.

But I guess I'm voting for Kerry. I'm going to vote for a Democrat (and wash my hands afterward) because, well, malevolence, malfeasance, incompetence, and a disconnection from reality have been the hallmarks of the current administration.

Jim Hightower once commented that "If the Gods had wanted us to vote they would have given us candidates." Well, the Gods gave us something worse: an anti-candidate, compared to whom anything else on offer is preferable.

Comments

[damiana-swan.livejournal.com]

I can't honestly say that I think Kerry is the best person for the job. I can say I think that, of the possible candidates, he is the best choice we have. While I think it's a good idea to cast one's vote for the candidate who most closely represents one's own interests and values, in this particular case (IMO) it is absolutely vital to use the ability to vote to get Bush OUT. Unfortunately, the two goals don't always end up pointing to the same line on the ballot, and when that happens it's important for each voter to evaluate what is more important to them, living according to their ideals, or using the power they have to shape reality. My belief is that it's more effective to start by shaping reality when you're shooting for an ideal.