I forgot to vote last Tuesday. I don’t even know what the elections were for or about or who was running for what. And honestly, I don’t really feel that guilty. I mean, I know I should feel really lucky to have been born in a country where I have the privilege to select my leaders and all, and I do appreciate that, but it’s really hard for me to get excited about politics.
I’ve always been taught that democracy is like the super awesome bestest way to run a country, but I don’t think that’s true. It works for America (kind of) because of the way we think and the value we place on liberty or whatever, but to say that all democracies are good and all dictatorships are bad is a gross oversimplification. Por ejemplo, in the motherland (Korea) there was this one dictator guy once who totally reorganized the entire infrastructure of the country and did all these cool things that probably wouldn’t have been possible with democracy ‘cause shit was all fucked up after the war, and the people were looking for a strong leader to be like, ‘Yo, do this’, not someone to be like, ‘Well, um, what do YOU all want to do? Is this okay with the Kims? And the Lees? Maybe we should ask the Chungs what they think’. And he stepped up and tore it up (in a good way). And yes, he was a dictator. My point is, they’re not all Stalins and Hitlers, bitches!
So it’s pretty fashionable to hate President Bush right now. But he’s just one dude, and it takes more than one dude to run a country. There are a lot of people under him1 to blame if you’re looking to point the finger; he just happens to be the one in the spotlight. I’m not excusing any of his actions or anything, because he IS the one who makes a lot of the huge decisions that affect people in countries all over the world, and some of those decisions have been flat-out wrong, but I don’t necessarily think it would have been any better under a different president.
Truthfully, knee-jerk liberalism annoys me as much as psychotically rightist conservatism (conservativism?) does. I tend to swing towards the left in terms of ‘the issues’, but in terms of actually applying that to voting and shit, it seems to me that both Democratic and Republican candidates swing toward the middle in order to get the most votes. So what are we really voting for anyway?
I guess politics are, like web2.0, all about gradients, not two-tone layouts in which things are either fuschia or cornflower2. And a false sense of user participation. And AJAX, and made-up words that facilitate the ownership of a domain name with five or fewer letters. Wait, what?
For me, the right to vote does not symbolize my participation in politics. It is simply my justification ticket to complain that ‘well, I didn’t vote for them…’
BTW, the impetus for this whole entry was me musing in the shower that hmmm, the terms ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ are stupid euphemisms because they both sound really good. Yeah, if you say it like THAT, then how can you argue for abortion without being ‘anti-life’[3] or argue against abortion without being a total sexist? The other day friend asked me if I was pro-choice or pro-life and I had to stop and think, ‘Wait, which one’s the one where you think abortion is okay?’
Whatevs. I mean, euphemisms aren’t all bad. It’s probably better than saying ‘pro-fetus-murder’ and ‘anti-women’s-rights’, I guess.
For the record, I am pro-choice. However, if I—and I am speaking entirely on my own behalf; if I, Rachel J. Kwon—were to get knocked up today, I would not abort the pregnancy. That doesn’t mean I’m against abortion. There are some very good reasons for having abortions; I just think that my reasons (babies smell funny, I wouldn’t get any sleep, I’d get bored of the kid) would not be good enough.
Or who knows, maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to drop out of med school.
I don’t mean to be insensitive or anything. I just think the way a lot of this (‘political stuff’) is handled is ridiculous, and so I’m treating it as such. End disclaimer.
Man, I have GOT to start watching the Sarah Silverman show. I hear she sings a song about pooping at the mall!
1 Haha quick someone make a sex joke now hahahaha
2 I was trying to avoid the ‘black-and-white’ cliché.
3 In fact, isn’t there a bumper sticker or something that says ‘Pro-choice is not anti-life’?
C
I agree with everything you said. My boss is a knee-jerk Conservative except she doesn’t really know that she’s not all that conservative on most issues – well, besides the hating immigrants part.
I think lately though, nobody really wants to talk about politics because we’re in such a perilous time that it just feels better to talk about Britney shaving her head than what’s going on in the Middle East. And not that we all need to be all politics all the time, but people’s lack of self-awareness is frightening to me.
And this really had a good bring it home point – but I don’t remember what it was. Quick, someone make a sex joke. How about that?
mandy
I think the more crazed pro-lifers get their knickers in a twist because they forget (or choose to ignore if you want to put on your tinfoil hat) that pro-choicers do indeed have babies. The whole point of being ‘pro-choice’ is the choice part, so I don’t see how you can only be one or the other (in the sense that not terminating an unexpected pregnancy and also being pro-choice makes one a hypocrite). We do live in an extremely divisive country right now though (which is squarely Bush’s fault), so it’s not at all surprising that each side vehemently hates the other and tries to drag everyone down with them in their wank.
Juan
Hmmm, alas America is not a democracy. It’s a representative democracy where the majority decides. The ‘Founding Fathers’ warned us about the eveils of a party system… so now we have people that run for office and finance their campaigns with the help of corporations, i.e., entities with all the rights and none of the responsibilities that a citizen has. And because there’s no such thing as a free lunch, of course, once in office, they’ll have to pass laws to benefit these big businesses that really don’t care about America.
You can’t justify a one-man centred system because it works sometimes. Yeah, sometimes it does take a man that has the best interest of his people in mind and has not only the desire but the ability to get things done. But what happens when a single man holds power and he only cares about making himself, and his friends, rich?
Sure in a democracy, you can’t have a guy that shines, as your Korea example illustrates. But neither can you have a Stalin. It’s the safest system.
I too dislike the extremes, but if we didn’t have them there … annoying the shit out of us … then how would we be able to find the least absurd, the most sound option? They bring the ‘issues’ to our attention by their profound … ‘dedication’.
You don’t have to think Democrat-Republican … there are more parties in the US, e.g., Liberal and Green. Instead of being disenchanted with politics, we should vote for the underdog … create some actual competition. The two parties don’t really compete, so they can present the same bland tired candidates over and over. It boils down to supply and demand. If we accept what they give us, then aren’t we responsible for the insipid state of politics?
Lindsey
Republicans AND democrats are both crazy.
I think Kodos and Kang are floating over Earth laughing at our stupidity.
p.s. wow! your submit button is huge. you know what they say about big submit buttons…
Jackie
The Sarah Silverman show is HILARIOUS and completely demented. It’s definitely my favorite new show.
eugenia
dude you should read the entry i just posted on my lj about how two co-workers and i secretly stalked one of our other co-workers to confirm our suspicions that he was taking 10 min breaks everyday to poo.
Emma
I’m staunchly against abortion for some moral reasons, but I actually don’t think the government should regulate it at all. I would probably never proclaim that I was pro-choice, but constitutionally I think it should be allowed. Just don’t expect a free ride to heaven if you do! Hah, I am mean.
I’m also pretty adamant about doing everything we can to stop global warming, but I just can’t call myself a Democrat because they’re just always complaining. Yeah, Democrats are whiners.
Bush is a sharply dressed man. His tailor should be elected president.