Fools and their Parties

Negativity is certainly not a condition that attracts others. In fact cynicism, even when well founded, has a way of turning people away. It seems that the longer that I live, the more things I see and the more I think about the world the more cynical I become. Oh don’t get me wrong, I make herculean attempts at seeking bright areas to celebrate and cherish. The fact is that outside of friends and family there seems to be little in the world to celebrate. I am of course speaking of real and important things.

I have a happy life, I am a happy person. I do see and experience many things that I would never wish on my worst enemy. It is possible that my experiences have tarnished my worldview. It is also possible that I simply see things as they truly are. I do not pretend or contend that I am endowed with greater wisdom or intellect than most men. I assume that I am basically an average joe. It is the fact that I consider myself not so different that every other man and yet I see the world so differently than most people I encounter that boggles my mind.

I write often of my disillusionment with pieces and parts of the world. Most recently I have written of my disgust of what has become the folly of Iraq. On that issue I would like to write more but so much of what I know I cannot write or share. Many of the things I probably could legally write about I do not because of a conflicting sense of duty.

Events here follow a strange cyclical pattern. We are, despite all attempts to claim otherwise, an army of occupation attempting to force our will on a population that is both unwilling and unready to accept it. As a result of our foolish prewar beliefs we are faced now with a strong and unrelenting insurgency. From my perspective this creates periods of intense activity followed by respites of relative calm. During the islands of tranquility I have time to read the news of the world, write a little and attempt to keep up with other things.

I watch the news on occasion, as much as I can stand. Every few days I sit down and surf the Internet and keep up with what some folks in the blogshere are busy chattering about. I am not isolated or cut off from the rest of the world. My exposure is just limited.

It is interesting, looking in on the world from afar for only brief periods. In a very real way it only serves to add to my cynicism.

I am convinced now more than ever that the world is headed to Hell in the proverbial hand basket. Each and every time I have been in front of a television broadcasting Fox news I have seen a segment on the Scott Peterson trial. I ask myself each time why this has any relevance to anyone. Of all the things occurring in the world why would a “news” organization dedicate such a large percentage of its’ air time to such a silly occurrence.

It really matters little if the event de jur is Scott Petterson or some other smuck, the major news organizations have for years focused on sensational news, really mere entertainment programming, rather than real stories. Why is this? It is because this is the sort of entertainment that the public wants. People do not want to be bombarded with real stories. If they were they may become as cynical as those of us that see the world without rose-colored glasses.

This is my first point in my argument that the world is really without much hope. People simply do not want to see the truth. Liberals are happy watching CNN and getting a happy left spin on their “news”. “Conservatives” happily watch Fox and kid themselves that it is truly “fair and balanced” and without any spin to meet the desires of the viewership. Neither organization can qualify as a true news organization.

Look at their lineups. They sell people and personalities rather than news. Every host on Fox has written some sort of book and spends an enormous amount of time selling their book on the air. What is up with Larry King? (I seldom watch CNN so I cannot comment at length on their hosts)

I am left to conclude that Americans are stupid and happy being so. They do not want real news because they do not demand it of the program managers that arrange the current fare. Real news would force real questions.

I have read some of the post of a few of my blogging friends. They are busy defending Bush and attacking Kerry. These folks have the best of intentions; they are reasonable, intelligent people. Yet it amazes me that even people that think deeply about issues are so easily sucked into the deception that is the two party system.

The argument that they use when challenged about the effort they put into the fight goes something along these lines: “we have to fight to keep the democrats out of office because they are socialist” or “at least Bush is a Christian” or any number of other justifications.

The very simple and true fact is that there is very little difference in the Democratic and Republican parties. I was talking politics recently with an Australian officer here. He laughingly remarked a statement very close to what I just stated. Looking from afar it is easy to see that there is very little separation between the parties.

Sure they appeal to different sorts of people. Each party incorporates enough of the “core issues” of their demographic to claim separation. It is really a matter of measuring the results. Some claim that the Democratic Party is about a move to socialism and the Republicans represent a way to thwart that effort. The reality is that both parties have moved the country closer to Orwellian centralization. It is really absurd to state otherwise. I can point to too many examples of Republican participation in the demise of the core values of the Republic for anyone to honestly deny this fact.

So it would seem that in our two party system we have two groups of ignorant people. Liberal Democrats that advocate socialism almost outright as a way to cure the ills of the world and “conservative” Republicans that vote for a party that has often times led the march toward big government and elimination of individual liberty. Both of these groups are of course wrong but it is hard to determine who demonstrates the greatest degree of ignorance. The liberal bleeding heart is tiresome but at least they stand for some principle, no matter how flawed that principle may be. The “conservative” supporter of the Republican party is either a dupe or a hypocrite. They have either been fooled by the lies perpetrated by the Republican leadership over the last 25 years or they secretly wish to impose a neo-conic vision on the world.

People often argue that there is no other choice but the two party system. To them we either support the lesser of two evils or by default we succumb to our worst fear. In my simple mind this is a weak and feckless argument. Sure third parties have no chance in the current system. It does not matter if they are right. When good men stand by and do nothing, evil triumphs. When people that ought to know better accept the current circumstance as the best we can do they are in effect aiding evil.

Good men are becoming fewer and fewer. As government grows and programs expand into our lives more and more ordinary people forfeit their ability to step away from the public trough. We have families and responsibilities. Each year as more and more of what were once freedoms and rights are defined as privileges and as more and more of what we earn goes to support an overreaching Federal bureaucracy more good men become part of the system. Once a man becomes so embedded and indebted to a system that he is no longer free to make principle-based choices he has in effect become a slave.

I have lost hope for the United States for many reasons, declining morals, abandonment of The Constitution, and other reasons. The primary areas of concern are I believe apathy and ignorance. People are too ignorant of history, the Constitution and our founding principles to know what right looks like. Those that do know or should know are misled by false beliefs in a broken two party system or too comfortable with their lives to stand and make a difference.

As the election draws near many millions of words will be written and spoken about who should win and why. So long as the discussion centers on the two major parties it is a pointless endeavor. Ultimately it does not matter which one of the major party fellows wins. Each will lead us down the wrong path if given the opportunity.

To those that are still misled and enamored with the Republicans and their promises of conservatism I would simply ask; what have they really done to restore America to the right path? Have they limited government, turned back the clock on socialism, restored our individual rights or respected the Constitution? In the last 25 years the Republicans have had the White House the majority of the time. They have certainly not taken steps that have produced fruit. Instead we have moved closer to centralization, government has grown, rights have been denied and American has continued a moral decline. This is not the work of a group that truly wishes to restore America to its rightful purpose.

Waste your time if you will with this pointless endeavor. If you really want to make a difference it is time that a few good men stood up and said “no more”. A cry should go out across the land that we will no longer accept the charade of representative government paraded about by the two organized parties. There are still enough good men left to stand up and make a loud roar. If we are unwilling to demand and take control of our destiny then we as a collective people are deserving of the result we receive.

To those I have offended I mean no harm but if my words sting there is still hope. The path we now follow will lead to tyranny of Orwellian proportions in generations to come. In my lifetime encroachments that were once unimaginable are common. The government continues to grow and creep into every facet of the individual life. As an individual I have no influence on the outcome of political events; I have no voice because those that would represent me are not given a fair chance.
Do what you will but realize that good men become fewer each year. By supporting a broken system you are not “staving off disaster”, you are simply part of the problem.

Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem
El Cid