An American love letter.

[Duh Neece]

To friends and family, Democrats and Republicans,

My fear mongering level is set to nuclear colors not-yet-named. I have never been so proud, terrified, ashamed, excited and involved as an American voter in my life. I vote decisively and often. I am ashamed of the campaign that John McCain is running because I have Republican loved-ones who deserve more than a candidate and a fellow American who cannot give them an answer to, "How in the fuck are you going to run this country?".

We are past the point of pandering to the religious right on the points of abortion and gay marriage. Our nation is facing a domestic and international crisis that we may not pull out of. As a voter I know very well that the majority of wealthy people in this country are not shopping at Walmart, Best Buy, Kroger, Biggs, Hollywood Video, Blockbuster, Walgreens, Ford, GM, Saturn, Honda, THE MALL, UDF, White Castle, McDonald's Frisch's, Skyline or Graeter's. Well, maybe Graeter's. You know who is? The middle fucking class. A class that gets smaller everyday due to rising gas, health care, grocery, energy and education costs. I'm talking about hard working people with educations and children and mortgages and good credit who are losing those things because they no longer matter in the American plan.

When the middle class can no longer afford tv's and dvd's and cd's and education for their kids and boats to go fishing and groceries to hold Pampered Chef parties and birthday parties and cub scout meetings and baby showers and mortgages and tuitions and utilities and food . . . well . . . businesses go out of business and people lose jobs and the aforementioned problems grow at an astronomical rate.

WE ALL DESERVE a presidential candidate who answers our questions when we look him/her in the eye and say . . . WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? A clear, intelligent, inclusive and realistic plan is called for. WE ALL DESERVE THIS.

I hope that BOTH candidates provide this type of sound, responsible, mature and current type of response to the issues we're facing.

I have only seen one candidate do that so far and that is Barack Obama and that is why I endorse him openly, proudly and confidently.

I am sending this out to breed understanding to all people who may have a knee jerk reaction to my beliefs and with whom I would like to believe that our bond as friends and family can not be so easily broken as by such an easily divisive thing as politics.

I believe in One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL. What do you believe?

Love to all and I hope we get through this.

Denise

[ThomasC]

Love to all and I hope we get through this.
I'm with you on this. I am so tired of it all.

[pearl5001]

I am currently re-reading Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope and it is almost bringing me to tears WISHING and HOPING that the nation will rise above the drivel the Right is pandering and elect someone who will change this nation for the better.

Look what I just got. Isn't it pretty?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3025/2944408438_76cabe74b5.jpg

[the_birds]

I know your feelings you have concerning the fear-mongering. They are justified and real, although its looking less and less likely McCain will be close enough for it to matter. O's lead in the polls is 14%, McCain's got a muzzle on Palin thanks to her Alaska crap and the economy is likely staying bad and Paulson doesn't have a frikken clue. Anyway, my point is...

You've got a lot more to worry about with the future of this country. All these years of low taxes and cutbacks have done a number on our Infrastructure and Gov't agencies. The truly sad part about it, is the lax regulation has squandered the whole point of Conservative ideals (low taxes, little or no regulation). Businesses did great to excess and a few greedy individuals got rich at the expense of the careers of millions of their employees.

This flawed philosophy, this deception, this shell game that has been performed on the American public is going to be a LOT more difficult to undo than one election.

[frizgolf]

All these years of low taxes and cutbacks have done a number on our Infrastructure and Gov't agencies.

Personally, I'd like to see smaller government (hey, what's that, a hatchet...?), but I'm afraid there's no one out there with the balls to streamline it.
As a low-level county employee, I witness unnecessary waste all the time. We're told to report it and/or suggest cost savings, but from my position, I'd merely step on toes and probably find my job conveniently shifted.
Larger government and the taxes to fund it scare me even more. Don't feed this greedy machine any more.

[Unrequited]

As a low-level county employee, I witness unnecessary waste all the time.

Bad example. Hamilton County is a poorly run county (DeWine? Pepper? Portune?, these guys are mental midgets).

We don't need large government and we don't need knee-jerk small government, we need smart elected officials appointing qualified people to run things efficiently. Something we never saw in the Bush Administration.

[the_birds]

As a low-level county employee, I witness unnecessary waste all the time. We're told to report it and/or suggest cost savings, but from my position, I'd merely step on toes and probably find my job conveniently shifted.
Larger government and the taxes to fund it scare me even more. Don't feed this greedy machine any more.

That's understandable, but I think that's more symptomatic of your particular area. You can have a great City gov't. and a terrible County gov't and a terrible State gov't. Or any combination of the aforementioned gov'ts. For all the crap that gov'ts get about inefficiency or waste or bribes, or lobbying, most private companies are guilty of many of the same things.

Send in the airlift of investigative reporters, stat.

[silentpaul]

This flawed philosophy, this deception, this shell game that has been performed on the American public is going to be a LOT more difficult to undo than one election.
Agreed. As a country we really need a paradigm shift, especially among those in positions of power.

Personally, I'd like to see smaller government (hey, what's that, a hatchet...?), but I'm afraid there's no one out there with the balls to streamline it.
As a low-level county employee, I witness unnecessary waste all the time. We're told to report it and/or suggest cost savings, but from my position, I'd merely step on toes and probably find my job conveniently shifted.
Larger government and the taxes to fund it scare me even more. Don't feed this greedy machine any more.

This would be one example of the needed shift. This is speaking from second-hand experience: There are a large number of gov't employees -- at least in my neck of the woods -- who work there only for the benefits. The actual work they put into an eight hour day is more like four, what with showing up late, two hour lunches, coffee breaks, leaving early, etc. The "streamlining of gov't" could focus significant effort on removing people based on poor performance and trying to replace them with people who have a decent work ethic.

[frizgolf]

My information (or lack of it) is strictly second-hand. I have yet to attain insider status, and can only attest to the gossip nature of things I hear. Heck, it may be all sour grapes, but the fact that I hear hints of inefficiency seem to acknowledge that at least there may be something there to base the rumors upon.
My department is continually rated well. I'm lucky. Heck, just the fact I can get loads of work done without interruption and micromanagement, all while finding time to gather around the smoke-break gossip mill, as well as post here, tells me I found a good thing. But there are nine other floors of agencies here, and not all faces smile like the ones in my department.
I can only imagine this building as a scaled down version of many government bureaucracies. Some run well; others produce sniping, gossip, and inefficiency.

[frizgolf]

I guess my point is, I don't favor bigger government.
The teat is too easy to tap.

[yoshomon]

I am sending this out to breed understanding

Do you actually talk like this?

I hope you're at least getting paid to write this shit.

[silentpaul]

Do you actually talk like this?

I hope you're at least getting paid to write this shit.

Right back atcha, buddy.

[Fourthisto]

Love to all and I hope we get through this.

What do you believe?
I believe that was an awesome post. A big high five your way! :cool:


PS: Have you tried jalapenos on popcorn yet?

[frizgolf]

PS: Have you tried jalapenos on popcorn yet?

Dang! I'd forgotten about that!

[markalot]

I'm voting for Obama but don't kid yourself about who can really solve problems. YOU can, not the government, not one man. You keep talking like that and another Reagan will come along and kick your ass back to 1980.

We are the government, we bought the homes, we ran up our credit card debt, we continued to shop for things we could not afford, helping to perpetuate the myth of a sound economy.

Don't ever forget that.

[yoshomon]

PS: Have you tried jalapenos on popcorn yet?

I'm glad you're working to breed understanding on this popcorn seasoning issue.

[the_birds]

PS: Have you tried jalapenos on popcorn yet?

Dude, what about some good Louisiana style hot sauce? Add parmasean too?


{Not Tabasco, that stuff is disgusting}

[dannyboy]

We are the government

Yep. If you really want to change the government, start by trying to change your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

[yoshomon]

Yep. If you really want to change the government, start by trying to change your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

Do you really believe that your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers have agency to "change the government" (for example, affect economic and foreign policy)? Maybe if your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers are major players in industry or finance, but even if that was the case your individual agency is pretty small on a national scale.

[markalot]

Do you really believe that your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers have agency to "change the government" (for example, affect economic and foreign policy)? Maybe if your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers are major players in industry or finance, but even if that was the case your individual agency is pretty small on a national scale.

Yea, I believe that. We all have votes and there's more than two candidates for president (for example). If change is needed we have it in our power to change it. The government perpetuates the illusion that the little guy can't do anything, which is false.

[dannyboy]

Do you really believe that your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers have agency to "change the government" (for example, affect economic and foreign policy)? Maybe if your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers are major players in industry or finance, but even if that was the case your individual agency is pretty small on a national scale.

I'll use Sarah Palin as an example (ignoring her ideology). She went to several different colleges to earn her degree. She by no means appears to have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She worked as a sports reporter in Anchorage(a pretty low key job). Pretty humble and average beginnings for someone that could seriously possibly become the 2nd most powerful person in the nation (presumably). From her childhood to adulthood, she no doubt met and had interpersonal relationships with many, many different people that shaped her value system.

So, your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers at this time may not have a direct agency to affect change, but who knows what the future holds? Suppose someone you know pretty well decides to run for a local school board and gets elected, serves a couple of years and gets the taste for more and then runs for city council and wins. From there they may move on to a state level office and then maybe on to Congress. If you're close to them, what role could you have played in influencing their values?

I've also signed probably a half a dozen petitions over the past year to get certain initiatives on the local ballot so the measures could be voted on. Those ballot drives are all organized locally and petitions handed out by neighbors.

So yes, one person can make a difference.

[yoshomon]

If you're close to them, what role could you have played in influencing their values?

I don't think "values" are the impetus for politics or really have any bearing in the management of the state and economy.

[dannyboy]

I don't think "values" are the impetus for politics or really have any bearing in the management of the state and economy.

Sure it does. Politics and the management of the state and economy are just a series of decisions that are made by politicians or other people in authority positions. Even though they are in an authority position, they are still just a person. Every single decision a person makes is a value judgment. We weigh one point (value) against another. The weight we place on each of those values has been forged in life experience. One value may be much more near and dear to your heart than someone else because it played a much more important role in your life than it did to someone else and vice versa for other values.

[markalot]

A lot of people have issues with one person one vote, I suspect Yosh is one of them. Because his values don't match others there is this desire to somehow remove or convolute the system so that while it appears to be a people movement it's actually a do what I think movement.

Compromise is the root of all evil, stuff like that.

Have at it Yosh!

[yoshomon]

A lot of people have issues with one person one vote, I suspect Yosh is one of them. Because his values don't match others there is this desire to somehow remove or convolute the system so that while it appears to be a people movement it's actually a do what I think movement.

Compromise is the root of all evil, stuff like that.

Have at it Yosh!

I do not think my immediate interests (higher wages, less work, lower cost of living, etc) can be won via electoralism. I don't think any politician or political sect represents or fights for my interests. They represent class interests that are opposed to mine. This is not an issue of 'values' but of material interest.

Beyond that, not voting, like not talking to reporters, is an issue of personal dignity. I don't know why anyone would want to degrade themselves by supporting this-or-that candidate, much less going to rallies for them or volunteering labor on their behalf. Don't you feel used? They don't give a fuck about you.

As the economic crisis heats up, the question in my mind is 'how can we defend our immediate interests against growing austerity?'. I'm fairly certain that voting is not the answer to that question.

[yoshomon]

Sure it does. Politics and the management of the state and economy are just a series of decisions that are made by politicians or other people in authority positions. Even though they are in an authority position, they are still just a person. Every single decision a person makes is a value judgment. We weigh one point (value) against another. The weight we place on each of those values has been forged in life experience. One value may be much more near and dear to your heart than someone else because it played a much more important role in your life than it did to someone else and vice versa for other values.

Politics is about finding the best way to accumulate capital and produce value. Personal "values" are meaningless and relative to this higher economic imperative.

[dannyboy]

Politics is about finding the best way to accumulate capital and produce value. Personal "values" are meaningless and relative to this higher economic imperative.

The higher economic imperative that an individual politician sees will be filtered through his/her own life experiences, either consciously or subconsciously.

[dannyboy]

I don't think any politician or political sect represents or fights for my interests. They represent class interests that are opposed to mine. This is not an issue of 'values' but of material interest.


The fact that you are opposed to class ism as it currently exists means that you have placed a high personal value on non-class ism. I'm willing to guess that you support political interests that also share your same values.

[markalot]

Beyond that, not voting, like not talking to reporters, is an issue of personal dignity. I don't know why anyone would want to degrade themselves by supporting this-or-that candidate, much less going to rallies for them or volunteering labor on their behalf. Don't you feel used? They don't give a fuck about you.


I don't go to rallies so I can't comment on that, but any candidate I like is NOT going to be a perfect match or can be expected to care about me. That's the one man or one politician can solve my problems mentality. I look for someone I think can do a decent job and cheer lead the country in the right direction. I look for other public servants to generally believe what I believe and work toward those ends.

[yoshomon]

The fact that you are opposed to class ism as it currently exists means that you have placed a high personal value on non-class ism. I'm willing to guess that you support political interests that also share your same values.

What is "classism"?

[dannyboy]

What is "classism"?

http://www.yourdictionary.com/classism

noun
discrimination against people on the basis of social class

[yoshomon]

While unfortunate, I don't think prejudice based on apparent social class* is the root problem here at all.

*stuff like kids being picked on at school for having cheap clothes or someone being turned down from a job because they lack social capital

[dannyboy]

While unfortunate, I don't think prejudice based on apparent social class* is the root problem here at all.

*stuff like kids being picked on at school for having cheap clothes or someone being turned down from a job because they lack social capital
But couldn't that prejudice also be carried out on an institutional level?