September 7, 2012
Apparently, there must be something political going on in the news tonight. Because my status feed is chock full of Obama haters and Obama supporters. Now ironically, most who fall into each category are the color you would expect them to be, but thankfully that is not the reason they are in said categories. First, I would like to say to few people who still believe that Obama was born in Kenya, I would kindly like to ask you to make sure you don't reproduce in the near future, because you are a moron. When one announces that you are intending to run for president, both you and your vice-presidential nominee are thoroughly vetted in all aspects of your life. So enough already.
Secondly, why are people surprised that Obama hasn't lived up to any of his promises? He is a politician. The modus operandi of a politician is to promise his or her constituents change and tell them everything they want to hear. But what most of you fail to realize, is that politics is essentially one giant game of quid pro quo. Politicians are often quietly beholden to the people who put them in office, such as campaign donors, special interests groups, lobbyists, etc. Third, having said what i just said, do you really believe that Mitt Romney will be any different? Do you really think his promises are any more valid than that of any presidential candidate before him? Personally, I doubt it. But then again, if he actually wins the election, I wonder what most of you and the people on Fox News will have to complain about if that "unAmerican, radical, muslim extremist Obama" is no longer "sending this country to hell." (Put the Kool-Aid down, please.)
Next? Most of the issues facing this country are a result of the actions of people in this country. You need examples, you say? Let's look at "terrorism." From 1979 to 1989, the Russians were involved in a bloody war in Afghanistan. And since this was directly during the Cold War era, naturally the U.S. had to get involved. And they did, by supplying of billions of dollars in arms to the Afghan mujahideen militants, in one of the CIA's longest and most expensive covert operations, called Operation Cyclone. At least 3 billion in U.S. dollars were funneled into the country to train and equip troops with weapons. Ironically, after expelling Russia from Afghanistan, the mujahideen and another extremists turned their hatred away from Russia, and squarely onto the west, specifically the U.S. for our continued support of Israel. Who, according to them, are the thieves of their holy land and must be slain without prejudice. They call this their "jihad" or holy war.
Next? Illegal immigration. It has always been a problem. This country was built on illegal immigration. If you're not a Native American, this means you, and your ancestors. But the problems that have long gestated, have obviously escalated in modern times. With incidences such as the Mariel Boat Lift in 1980, and a constant increase of Mexican immigrants since the late 80s and early 1990s, especially after Mexico rewrote article 27 of their constitution in order to join NAFTA, which was spearheaded by everyone's favorite president, Clinton. Since NAFTA, Mexico's national poverty rate has climbed dramatically from near 31% to a stunning 44.2%, with 33.7% living in moderate poverty and 10.5% living in extreme poverty. Thus, they come here, looking for a better life, by any means necessary. And I'm not gonna get into the criminals that come here illegally. And let's not forget that ol' George "Dubya" Bush met with the leaders of Mexico and Canada and proposed the idea for the North American Union. In which, all three countries would become one. We would share one currency, which would be called the "amero" and they would build a super highway that joined all three countries in order to "create jobs and increase trade" between the union. That wouldn't open up the borders. It would erase them.
Next? Unemployment. While it's true, Obama's promises to curb this epidemic have been futile. But my issue with that is more than empty promises. I hate the fact most of the things we buy or "need" or no longer produced in this country. I hate the fact that Obama chose to "bail out" large companies, and those who ran the companies took lavish trips with the money. I hate the fact, that all of these green energy jobs Obama promised haven't taken shape. And it's mostly due to the fact, that many powerful people in this country have a large stake in fossil fuels. So while they're making millions off our oil dependency, they're not going to want to see hybrid or solar powered homes. And some of the lack of green jobs, are simply out of people's stupidity. Because they think global warming is some "stupid liberal scare tactic," that Al Gore made up after he "created the internet." I also hate the fact that the large corporations some politicians cater to, make their high profit margins, by outsourcing their labor to 3rd world countries to keep cost down and take advantage of cheap labor. When I have a problem with my debit card, I shouldn't be directed to a call center in India. And/or because of it's rich supply of cotton, a lot of clothing is produced in sweatshops in countries like my family's native Honduras. Check your t-shirt tags from time to time. You'll see what i mean.
And while I could go on and on, I'm not going to. Because quite frankly, I'm making my own head hurt. But the overall point, is essentially this: No matter the candidate, the problems will persist. We, as a country, are never going to accomplish anything. Because we are too busy pointing out the flaws in each other's ideologies to find a common ground. We are too busy repping our religious denominations, as if they were sports teams, and not things that have the potential to push us further away from reality. I'm sorry, if I prefer separation of church and state. I think it was a great idea from our founding fathers. Who were not always the angels we make them out to be. They were men. They made mistakes. They hated organized religion, and sought to make a government free from them church's influence. They also wrote a document claiming all men are equal while most of them owned slaves, and a few of them had slave women as their mistresses. We can't forget our history, or we'll be condemned to repeat it. And if we're too busy looking forward to the future, and some impending rapture, then we'll forget about the present. And we are presently fucked.
But it's not all gloom and doom. This country can rise from the ashes like the phoenix it is. We just have to get our heads out of our asses. Stop letting reality tv dominate our lives. Let the teachers teach the children about math, science, and history. Let's stop thinking that if a teacher has a sexual education class than it will force your child to have premartial sex. Because news flash, abstinence doesn't work through puberty. And neither does "magic underwear." Let's demand news people tells us the news, and keep their opinions to their fucking selves. Stop spreading misinformation and being hate and fear mongers just for the sake of ratings. Let's stop being so short sighted about things like gay marriage, and let's start reading something besides holy texts and TMZ headlines. And please notice I said "we." I am not immune to these shortcomings. But, I am still admittedly biased, when I say that I was born in the best country in the world. And I can change. And the bottom line is, so can we all.
*Steps down off of soapbox*
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