What Else You Got?

Not sure why I thought of this but I used to be stationed with this guy that seemed to thrive on asking dumb ass questions. He once asked me, “would you rather get punched in the dick by Mike Tyson or eat Roseanne’s sweaty ass, and choosing neither means you die”…WTF right! When I was 11 years old, Bill Clinton was running his first campaign for the White House. The U.S. was dealing with a few major issues at that time; a recession, crime, and an overall souring sense of trust for the leadership. His campaign manager gave him a few catchphrases to connect with the country, “change versus more of the same”, “don’t forget healthcare”, and the most popular was “it’s the economy, stupid”. The thing the country worried about the most then was their financial health, or at very least, their ability to consume. That was also the main concern of the corporations, seeing as our nation was transitioning out of being producers and into being purely consumption driven as we are today. Obviously, Clinton won with that message, signed the NAFTA deal that was already in the works when he took the presidency, and that further propelled us towards this unremarkable state of affairs we live with today.

More of the same

Here we are, 32 years since that campaign and most of the issues of Clinton’s day are still very much intact. Unfortunately, there is no viable option in the race for the White House to actually improve things. The likely fall opponents right now, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, are both more of the same and there is nothing positive about that. We need change, a clear departure from the small ideas of divisive politics in favor of big ideas of advancing the country. Joe is too long in the political tooth for the big ideas we need, and Donald is too much of an idiot to have a meaningful idea of any sort. The country is bent over a barrel, and we have two porn stars behind us, one relatively gentle, the other wildly aggressive, both hell bent on doing the only thing they know to do. I recognize that metaphor only registers as a negative for heterosexual men…I’m a heterosexual man so, I have no idea what a horrible equivalent for other folks would be, just insert your version of that nightmare here.

Here we are again, arguing that mediocre is better than bad. Though I believe that to be true in the near term, the long-term prospects for both are bleak. Much like the election in 1992, we have 2 people that aren’t really fighting for our benefit. Is there a clear choice? Yeah, Joe Biden is who I’ll be casting my vote for…but unfortunately, it’s by default because the other guy is absolutely insane. I don’t feel good about it at all, because HE is not an objectively good choice, he’s the least damaging option. When Barack Obama ran in 2008, he inspired hope across the planet, so much so, that citizens of foreign countries rejoiced when it was confirmed he was the winner. I was in Kyrgyzstan when he was elected, they celebrated in the streets when the results came in just like I did. In my opinion, he’s the best President we’ve had…I factor in intangibles like, who else was playing ball in the White House, and how many of them could effortlessly drop Jay-Z lyrics? JFK wasn’t doing that! Barack wasn’t perfect, but he was the good choice to advance the nation. Granted, every election we’re making amateur predictions on who will lead better and we miss the mark sometimes. Barack was cool, but it backfired a couple times.

Change-ish

We truly need someone to be at least as close, preferably a bit closer, to perfect than Barack Obama was in 2008. The challenges have compounded since then and the options for righting the ship have lessened. Short of a very big, unpleasant but necessary idea, every candidate is offering more of the same, and instead of recognizing that “it’s the economy, stupid” they’ll just be stupid with the economy. I don’t know how politicians get the nod to run behind closed doors, who the powers that be are, or how any of the darker side of politics operates…I can only speak from the perspective of an idealist in these bleak political times. This shit is broken, and our news outlets along with those people in the shadows have convinced us that “mediocre and bad” are actually “the best available and good enough”. How do we as a society call bullshit though? Where is the United States customer service line?

Granted, the national politics arena is sexier, the answer is probably local politics. It’s silly to think that effective change will come from the top down, especially now. It has to start from the foundation up in those city council meetings and state-wide elections. The national narrative is disheartening because the lower levels are often ignored by the “big idea” types. Everyone wants the glory and adoration now, because of that one good idea they had. Everyone seems to be looking ahead to the political upgrade while leaving their reality in turmoil due to constant change. 

Well Damn

To me, it seems we’ve grown content with unremarkable. Each election cycle is like a poor Christmas in that, we ask for everything and get dollar store Army men plus the ability to keep our two rows of teeth intact as if that’s a windfall. Then, in a blow to our intelligence they do news conferences bragging about those Army men and our teeth being intact. I’m in the back thinking “sir, you didn’t do shit for that outcome”! This is probably another rant fueled by the disappointing state of affairs, but we should expect more from our leaders than what we’re getting. We shouldn’t be forced to select from Mike Tyson throwing a knockout shot to the genitals and eating Roseanne Barr’s sweaty ass in 2024…yet here we are. Sure, no candidate is perfect, but if these two nut jobs are truly the best we have to select from, our country is FUBAR!