The American people, it would appear, are on the verge of electing the self-avowed candidate of change. They are tired of the way Washington has been run and scared for their futures. They are prepared to seek a different path. And not without good reason. The environment is fouled, the economy is in the dumper and the price of energy is, well, unaffordable.
We have taken the first step. We have become engaged, informed and involved. And yet that is most certainly not enough. Barack Obama cannot save us. No one man can.
We have long decried the power plays of President Bush. We have complained that he had too much power to follow his own agenda, ignore Congress and the will of the people. It would take pages to list his excesses. We have shouted from our collective rooftops the fact that this is supposed to be a system of checks and balances; that no man should have such absolute control.
And now we wait for one man to save us. He cannot. We must save ourselves. I try not to be the pessimist, but I wonder if we will. An example:
A decade ago, business as usual changed in American manufacturing. Leveraged buyouts, mergers, competitive pressure from overseas and greed were some of the factors that brought about that change. Almost overnight American workers were admonished to produce more with less. For less.
To be fair, it was necessary. It was necessary because we had made unwise trade agreements but nevertheless, it was necessary if we were to compete. In my workplace, we were told, “get on the train or be left behind”. Most did, but you could draw a line separating the people who could not or would not adapt from the ones who did. That line was around 50 years of age. Some people were just too old and too inflexible to change. They got left behind. They were forced into retirement, fired or quit. They simply could not make the shift to a new work paradigm. If we are to thrive as a nation, we cannot afford that kind of reaction. If we are to survive as a people, a world, we cannot afford that kind of reaction.
The world is changing, one way or another. We are in a perfect storm of change. The economy, the environment and the emergence of India and China guarantee it. We cannot now stand idly and wait for the President, or the “other guy” to fix things. We must make hard decisions – unpopular decisions – and do our part.
Another example: There are still people who do not believe in global warming. Not only do they not believe it is man-made, they don’t believe it at all. When I pressed some friends on the subject, their reasons became clear: They simply did not want to change the way they did things. Believing in global warming would force them to change. The conversation grew animated and my friend’s wife told me that she DID NOT want to turn the water off while brushing her teeth – there was such a thing as comfort.
Please believe me, these are normally reasonable people.
We must lay aside our good for the greater good, on a larger scale still. Every state (and their leaders) do what is good for themselves, but not what is good for the nation. Or even the world.
Third example: A dozen states in the U.S. grow corn, much of it for ethanol and all of that is subsidized by the government. Ethanol is a boondoggle. It takes more energy to produce it and move it than it creates. This is a fairly well known fact among the energy aware. And still we produce corn for fuel. We do it because it is good for the economies of states like Ohio. But it’s bad for America. Will Ohio admit that and do what is good for America? How about what is good for the world? An unanticipated consequence of using corn for fuel instead of food is the fact that nations on the other side of the world increase destruction of forests so they can produce the food that we are not.
Producing ethanol (which is not profitable anyway) is causing rain forest to be lost.
Think about that for a minute. Producing ethanol is causing rainforest to be lost.
We have spent the last 2 decades driving inefficient vehicles because we felt the need for the status symbol. There really is no other reason for most people to drive an SUV. We waste what belongs to us and excuse it by saying “I paid for it” or “We don’t want to alter our comfort level”, all the time destroying the only world we have. We are not only the only animal on the planet that creates trash, we are the only one messing our nest.
But there is hope. In fact, all kinds of hope. We are also the only animal who can reason out this problem and take action. The question is, are we going to wait and see if Barack Obama will save us or are we going to do it ourselves?
Cog in the Wheel 
Fear and nausea
Tags: McCain, Obama, Palin, racism
I didn’t want to believe the story that came out yesterday about the two neo-nazis. I read it online yesterday and wanted it to go away, but it was on the news and it was on NPR this morning. I watched video of people in Iowa talk about how Obama was a terrorist and “the blacks would take over”. The friend I debate with at the office is all but foaming at the mouth as it appears that Obama is going to win the election. He rubbed his white wrist as he said his policies would favor certain people to make up for the past.
I want to throw up.
I am afraid that all the people that are so fearful add fuel to those that are so full of hate. In my heart I really believe that the percentage of these people are small. You look at the crowds yelling and hooting and hollering after Sarah Palin says that Barack pals around with terrorist and you see old and white. That simply is no longer the face of America.
If we want to talk policy, fine. I can see that the Republicans offer another point of view. I don’t agree with it in all accounts, but we can discuss that. We can find common ground.
Fear and hate. You can’t discuss. You can’t talk people out of that and you can’t find common ground. There is no logic to such fear and hate, it is visceral.
The media has glossed over much of the hate speak. It has been mocked on SNL and the late night talk shows. Laughing at it has its value, no one wants to be the butt of the joke. Yet how can we really conquer this? Do you ignore it, shove it in the closet and hope that it withers away? Or, do you shine the light of day on it and hope it burns away in the harsh scrutiny?
I don’t want to believe my country is so backwards.
Yet, I still feel like I’m going to be sick.