Sunday, October 26, 2008

I'm not a fan, I'm a citizen

I sent a video created by MoveOn.org to a friend the other day which I thought was pretty funny. She didn't find it very funny. She thought that "Obama fans" were becoming overzealous and "acting like the only sane and cool and acceptable view on earth is to support Obama and everyone else are idiots."

Yup. That pretty much sums up my view!

The video that started the discussion is designed for Obama supporters who for whatever reason may not make it to the polls. Here's a version I received, customized for me:



I think this video is a brilliant tactic! Millions of new voters have registered to vote and it's critical that each one of them actually go out and cast a ballot. The 2000 and 2004 elections were very close--whether you believe that illegal voter suppression happened or not, the Florida and Ohio vote counts came down to just a few thousand ballots statewide--just a handful of votes per precinct. Thus, that one voter who meant to go vote but went and did the laundry instead, actually could have had an impact the election results. The video is designed to be somewhat of an antidote to the "my vote doesn't matter, it's just a drop in the bucket" mentality that has historically plagued the American electorate.

As far as the zealotry of the Obama crowd, I for one think it's warranted. Not because Obama's so great but because this election is so important and the difference between the policies and tactics of the two sides are so great. I'm not alone in this opinion and it's not blind hero worship. Take a look at the generally sober New York Times. This is how they begin their endorsement of Obama:

Hyperbole is the currency of presidential campaigns, but this year the nation's future truly hangs in the balance.

This country and the world are in the throes of huge changes. The global economy and ecology are in crises. The economic crisis dominates the headlines, but the ecologic crisis is arguably even more important. Obama's policy position actually approaches solutions to both: green infrastructure building. It's not a complete solution, but it's a start. McCain proposes tax cuts for the wealthy, the same trickle down economics that have failed most of the country for the last 30 years, and "drill baby, drill." This is not a low stakes election. These candidates are not the standard tweedle dee and tweedle dum.

I'm not a fan, I'm a citizen. I take citizenship seriously and I believe that it is my responsibility as a citizen, a patriot, and as a member of the human species to act in the best interest of my country and my planet. So, I get a bit excited about these things. If we don't act individually and collectively to change the direction of our nation and the world, our kids will not be better off than us, and our grandkids may witness the end of life as it has been known by the whole of human history. I'm not exaggerating. While grossly under reported, the mainstream press is reporting on occasion that climate change is happening even faster than most scientists predicted.

Will Barack Obama save the planet? No. Not on his own. But John McCain's policies are virtually identical to George Bush's and you can see where that's gotten us. I think we could use a few more zealots. This shit is important.

Oh, and by the way If the World Could Vote, I think we'd have a lot less to worry about in terms of the impact of a single ballot. It'd be a landslide!

No comments: