November 2008 Archives

So I logged onto CNN.com in the middle of the night, and switched over to the "international" addition.  Did you know that Japan is in a recession, too?  I'm always shocked (well not really) at the difference between US news and international news.  No wonder we're all so ignorant over here, when our news headlines are dominated by regurgitated garbage, and other nations get real news.  Even on CNN.com!  CNN is an American news network.  There is no reason that the headlines for the international scene shouldn't be the same thing that you see when you click on CNN.com!  Like they just know that they can spoon feed us garbage.

I had the great luck to be in downtown Chicago the night that Sen. Barack Obama was widely and fairly elected to the office of the President of the United States, which is probably the crappiest job anyone could accept at this moment in time. For that, I offer my congratulations and condolences.

There was an air of energy, especially as the news was good. People were smiling, waving flags, pallin' around with tourists (ha. ha.). Some people got messages on their cell phones (I must have gotten 20), while others excitedly asked complete strangers what the electoral college count was. All the cops were out, streets were blocked, and from where I was enjoying a cocktail on the 96^th floor of the John Hancock building above the twilight, Chicago was beautiful.

I, of course, didn't vote this election. To be honest, I was one of the undecided. I felt that both of the candidates had their good and bad points. I think that McCain is not as Bush-like as he was made out to be, but shot himself in the foot when he chose Palin for a running mate. I think that Obama is not as socialist as he was made out to be, but I had a few contentions with him as well.

I'm feeling increasingly discontent with a two-party system that pretends to be dichotomous but is actually centrist. Neither of the two major parties fits my ideals with any kind of accuracy, so I'm growing weary of these red/blue choices and conservative/liberal ideologies. But, thankfully, this two year election is finally over. I have to admit that I'm feeling a little empty. A little on the fringe of the excitement that radiated like a doppler from Grant Park last night.

I am still overwhelmed by how excited people were. People were crying. In my short history, I don't remember anyone crying for the election of a President in a good way. People were literally hopping up and down. People were screaming and they were hugging their friends and family.

A part of me was very skeptical of this reaction. Like the wallflower in the corner of a party that doesn't quite fit in with the scene. I think it's very wonderful that Obama is our first black and only minority president. I can't believe we've been stuck with middle-aged WASPs since Washington (excluding Kennedy, who I guess was a WASC). I hope that his nomination to the presidency will add to the dialogue and healing of racial barriers in this country. I think it's wonderful that George W. Bush will finally be going back to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, to cut wheat or eat beef jerky or whatever he does. Who wouldn't jump for joy at the fact that a man who has supported and bred one failed policy after another, who really should have never been elected once, let alone twice, will finally be moving out of the White House. (Please, Mr. Bush, stay away from politics. And no lectures or books, either.)

Now, here comes my very large "however."

I am very concerned that this excitement places the entire American voting population (highest ever) in a very precarious position. Excitement like this creates high expectations, mandates, and hopes. And we, as a public, cannot expect one man and his administration to alone solve our problems. I do not want the energized electorate to become discouraged when change does not come quickly. The American voters tend to have short memories, and shorter patience. Please give President Obama a chance. He is cursed with what may be the worst handover in the history of this nation.

I am very concerned that our government will remain highly partisan, divisive, and bound by our false R/D dichotomy (for more on my feelings on this, please see my previous post, "where's my think tank?"). The downfall and party backlash of the Republicans, if you'll remember, happened when the Republicans held a majority in all branches of the government. This is exactly what our forefathers did not want to happen.

I am very concerned that the two-party system will continue to restrict the flow of ideas, policy, and social activism that is needed in modern times. Consider this quote from a recurring third-party candidate, Ralph Nader. "It would be a three-way race if I'd been in the debates," Nader said Tuesday in an interview. If the networks and newspapers had covered him, he said, his poll numbers would have gone up and the Commission on Presidential Debates would have had to include him. "We documented the two-party dictatorship, we've won ballot access and we've educated a lot of people about what politics should be about," he said. Nader was on the ballot in 45 states and the District of Columbia (this material was borrowed from this article).

I'm not saying you have to vote for third-party candidates just because they are third party candidates. But please stop ignoring politicians that don't have an 'R' or 'D' behind their name. Hell, maybe Barack Obama doesn't really deserve the D behind his name, and did it out of a necessity to win.

Here's a dream I wrote about a month ago:

I met Barack Obama in my dream last night!  I really liked him, and we were at some charity fundraiser. Oddly, there weren't a lot of people there.  I really was conflicted on who to vote for, being that my views aren't represented by either major party.  I didn't get a chance to ask him my question, but I saw my political science teacher from high school and told him to ask Obama this: "If you get elected, what processes or policies will you change to ensure that third party candidates can legitimately and seriously run for political office?" 

I hope that Obama will help do that.  That's the change I'm looking for. 

I never received my ballot.

I am so furious about this.  The futility of the vote is just so strong for me, now.  I think, what does it matter, my one vote?  Of course, this is what they want you to think.

There was a previous post on this blog, about when our tolerance will be reached for becoming upset about stolen elections.  It's gotten to the point where people don't even think that their vote really matters, since so many of our elections are futile.  The first presidential election I was able to vote for (in 2004) was a preponderance to me.  I stood in line for over an hour. When I finally cast my ballot, I shoved an ATM card into a machine.  I voted, and I wanted my receipt.  There was none.  Whenever you make a purchase, you get a receipt for it.  I had NO EVIDENCE that I had voted.  No proof.  Nothing.  Just an "I voted" sticker.  It made me feel like an appeased pet.

I'm angry.  And not altogether convinced that my vote would have counted anyway.  No wonder we're so jaded.  It's as if voting is just another exercise in futility.  Like victims of learned helplessness, there is nothing we can from becoming shocked when we try to jump out of our cages.

In the wake of an election that some people have been anticipating for 8 years, I am accepting the fact that I'm sitting this election out. 

Not voluntarily.

I am currently living in Chicago, Illinois, and requested my absentee ballot way back in September.  In fact, my father even put in an additional request about a month ago.  They received their ballots, and I never received mine.

I called the supervisor of elections in Hillsborough County, Florida, last week.  Which, apparently, was just too late.  They stated that they sent out the ballot a long time ago, and it must be the post office's fault, thank you very much. She informed me that they've been getting a lot of these calls.

She said that she would issue a new ballot.  It is Monday, and I have yet to receive the ballot in the mail.  The mail doesn't come until about 3.  I would have to rapidly fill out my ballot, rush to the post office, and send it overnight.  Since, as the woman told me, the ballot has to be physically in their office on November 4th.

So even if I manage to get home in time from the library, where I am currently working on job and grad school applications, and get to the post office before it closes, it will cost me 16 dollars to theoretically get my ballot into the voting office.

This doesn't even answer the question: what happened to my original ballot that was mailed out by the Supervisor of Elections?  Let's say that someone got this ballot and used it to vote, and sent it in.  What happens when my 16 dollar ballot comes in, and they say, "Well, this person can't vote twice?" Do they throw out both of these ballots? 

I want to know who stole my ballot!  It's not fair.  It's not fair that I might have to pay 16 dollars (when I'm so broke and unemployed) to vote in this election.  It's not my fault that I didn't recieve my ballot.  Why does it have to be in on November 4th? 

Apparently Florida has had one of the largest problems with missing absentee ballots in the country.  I feel robbed of my right to vote.  I might be bitter about this one for years.  I can't believe that people choose not to vote.

I'll never get this vote back.  For the next two, four, eight years, when I am upset about a politician, I won't even be able to say, "I voted for the other guy."  I have become involuntarily apathetic.