Electoral Funsies

This coming American election was important from the start; the past eight years have left many people demoralized, no matter their ideological outlooks. There is a litany of disasters I could run through: the erosion of rights and freedoms; tax cuts for those who need them least; the poor and insensitive response to Hurricane Katrina; zero national action on climate change; wiretaps; the flourishing of an unsustainable mortgage system; detention and torture; two wars, one unnecessary by any reasonable measure and both expensive in treasure, lives, and stability. I realize this is more or less the same rant I posted after the 2004 elections, but so little has changed in this administration's approach to the world. America's reputation and resources have taken a beating, and this worries me. For all the foibles of the Excited States of America, and for all my compatriots' tendency to hate on them, as a Canadian I would most definitely rather have the U.S. in charge of world order than the People's Republic of China.

And no matter how much the rest of the world may hate Americans, Americans are doing a pretty good job hating each other. The relational dysfunction that has consumed America has Americans speaking of each other not as fellows in debate, with whom we may disagree, but as libtards, Paultards, Rethuglicans and Dim-o-crats, Christo-fascists, fascists, homofascists, corporate pigs, feminazi bonerkillers, fundies, neo-Condi rice-and-beaners, guilty white secularist liberals and on and on and on until the purported differences are so big that we can't even speak to each other like human beings anymore. Noise and name-calling have consumed the political debate. It seems there is less and less space for reasonable people to disagree, and fewer and fewer people to occupy that space. I have been part of this; I have un-secretly cackled when the hubris of a Vitter, a Foley, a Libby comes crashing down around him. I hope that people are tired of this; that all of these divisions are yielding a real desire for honesty, freshness, and a change in the way politics is conducted. I think there could be a figure who could rally a movement for reconciliation.

Last week, Barack Obama gave a politically difficult and intellectually spot-on address about race, one of American history's great festering sores. He said things that both whites and blacks might not have wanted to hear, but did it without incriminating anyone.Anyone who believes that speech counts for nothing in politics is clearly missing the point -- the way we speak of others shows how we think of them. Yes, he is ranked as being very (gasp!) liberal. Yes, it is wrenching to me, as a self-identified feminist, to find myself not supporting the first woman with a serious chance at the presidency. But even though their platforms are fairly similar, I really do feel that Clinton has a different understanding of politics than Obama does. His campaign is drawing in people who have traditionally felt cut off from their country's political life, and so far has not been as enthusiastic in its use of politics-as-usual tactics as the other campaigns. So in November 2008, I plan to support someone who speaks to Americans with respect. Usually I am cynical about this kind of idealist populist blah-blah, but just this once, let the healing begin.