Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Smush Bush, Bury Kerry
60% of Americans voted last night. Of those, just over half voted Republican. Apparently, 30% of the electorate is frightened enough to support Bush.
History shows you can get people to do anything, if they're frightened enough. 80 years ago the Communists were taking over the world; 60 years ago it was the Jews; today it's those crazy Arabs. Tell a lie, Hitler said, and keep telling it big enough and often enough until people believe it. The widening gap between rich & poor? $140 billion worth of tax cuts to oil companies? Forget it, there's a new terror alert! Apparently Americans are too afraid to notice their country crumbling around them.
And Kerry! A man on the right wing of the Democratic Party, who supported the war in Iraq until he discovered he could get votes if he didn't. Had he won last night, he'd commit even more troops to Iraq. And the political left still lined up meekly behind him, shushing anyone who wanted a candidate with principles. Sure, don't tell anyone what you stand for, or better yet don't stand for anything - that'll change things.
The struggle continues. Iraqi civilians are still getting slaughtered, along with working class Americans. Black American men are still put behind bars for minor crimes, and forced to work for pennies for military contractors. 'Illegal' immigrants still risk their health & lives to grow our strawberries. A Kerry victory wouldn't have changed that. We still have to fight the system. Maybe having a born-again ex-coke addict at the helm makes that all the more clear.
History shows you can get people to do anything, if they're frightened enough. 80 years ago the Communists were taking over the world; 60 years ago it was the Jews; today it's those crazy Arabs. Tell a lie, Hitler said, and keep telling it big enough and often enough until people believe it. The widening gap between rich & poor? $140 billion worth of tax cuts to oil companies? Forget it, there's a new terror alert! Apparently Americans are too afraid to notice their country crumbling around them.
And Kerry! A man on the right wing of the Democratic Party, who supported the war in Iraq until he discovered he could get votes if he didn't. Had he won last night, he'd commit even more troops to Iraq. And the political left still lined up meekly behind him, shushing anyone who wanted a candidate with principles. Sure, don't tell anyone what you stand for, or better yet don't stand for anything - that'll change things.
The struggle continues. Iraqi civilians are still getting slaughtered, along with working class Americans. Black American men are still put behind bars for minor crimes, and forced to work for pennies for military contractors. 'Illegal' immigrants still risk their health & lives to grow our strawberries. A Kerry victory wouldn't have changed that. We still have to fight the system. Maybe having a born-again ex-coke addict at the helm makes that all the more clear.
