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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: You are not what you consume, wear, drive or vote for. One of the more disturbing trends I've seen in our society is the tendency of people to pigeonhole others based upon very superficial things. Often people will come to major conclusions about others based solely on the make and model of car that they drive, or the clothes they wear, or the brand of beer they drink. What's worse, many people not only accept that concept, they actively encourage it by identifying with their favorite brands, proudly wearing corporate logos on their clothing as they shuffle mindlessly through the malls, looking for more things to consume in an attempt to give their lives meaning. Here's the problem: People are much more than just the products they consume, the music they listen to, the clothing they wear, the cars they drive or the ideologies they embrace. People are human beings, oftentimes complex, multifaceted, even self-contradictory. Nobody is perfect, and nobody ever will be. Learning to understand these differences goes a long way towards learning to appreciate others as being three-dimensional human beings, with good points and bad points, virtues and flaws. Refusing to understand these differences leads to thinking of others as mere objects, two-dimensional things that are either "good" or "bad", "smart" or "stupid", "virtuous" or "evil". The election being held today has led to some very extreme and often quite bitter feelings among many people. Some are saying things like "if you vote for candidate 'x', then you are a (insert expletive or derogatory comment here)". But that's not how things really work in the real world. Often people who vote for one candidate over another have multiple reasons for casting their vote, sometimes positive, sometimes negative. Some may choose to vote for one candidate or party because they honestly believe in that party's platform or ideals, however accurate or misguided that belief may be. Some may choose to vote for one candidate and/or their party over another not because they identify with or even like that party, but because they want to punish the other party in the only way they're allowed to do so. Some may choose to vote one way over the other simply because their friends and/or family are voting that way. Some may choose to vote for third parties. Regardless of how people choose to vote and what reasons they have, those decisions are quite often much more complex than others may give credit for. But here's the problem with making accusations against those who profess support for a candidate you may not like or agree with: If you choose to say "You voted for candidate 'y' instead of candidate 'z', and therefore you are a (insert derogatory term here)", then you are not really making a case as to the personality or character of that person, you are actually only reflecting your own shallowness and willingness to pigeonhole people for superficial reasons. It's an unfortunate tendency that anyone can fall into, but it's also something we can face up to and choose to not do. No matter who wins today, or what party prevails in various contests, we're still going to be living in a nation that has profound and deeply troubling problems. Regardless of what party wins, or who is in what offices, we are still going to have a nation where a very few very wealthy and well connected individuals will have profound influence over our government, society and economy, and in many ways over our very lives and livelihoods. The resulting corruption, cynicism and damage to our nation will proceed apace, and it won't matter what promises have been made by various politicians because that isn't going to change anytime soon. No matter how "conservative" or "liberal" or "statist" or "libertarian" you may be, this is a real problem that is causing all of us real pain in our daily lives. Before we succumb to the temptation to attack each other out of anger and frustration, no matter how justified that anger may be, I suggest that it would be a lot more productive to instead take a moment to think of the other people here as human beings worthy of being treated with a modicum of respect and decency, and to try to understand their viewpoints and why they have them instead of violently reacting to their viewpoints and then concluding that they're somehow defective, depraved or evil. Pointing fingers at each other and name-calling isn't going to solve these problems. Seeking pat answers and spiffy one-liners and witty put-downs isn't going to solve anything either. Instead of attacking each other with increasingly venomous and hateful accusations, perhaps we'd all be better served by talking about what ideals we have in common, what hopes we have for our future, what problems we feel need to be addressed, and what methods we might come up with to accomplish those ends. Either that, or risk becoming so polarized that we eventually end up at each other's throats and destroying ourselves while the real owners of this country sit back and laugh their butts off at us.
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#7. To: Cynicom, all (#0)
Since I can't get my hands around the throat of the 'real owners' of the country, the local slug who attempts to take my guns, or tax me more than I can afford to pay will have to take the heat. Seriously, all this piece needs is kumbaya as background noise.
Notice the Bank in the background ! {At about 15 seconds in ... that Bank of Scotland }.
Note to 'piles and other assorted fascists. See above.
My (arse) is only half Irish ... but George Bush and the entire U.S. Slave State is invited to kiss that side.
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