Memo: The 2012 Election Cycle

“Stupid is as stupid does” could as easily be said by Forrest Gump to his friend Bubba as to those who may contend in this election cycle that the Democratic party will counter vitriolic attacks on the president’s character, family and record with nothing more than the worn out “race card”. And why? Because, they say, the “O’Bummer-n-Chief”‘ has no real record to run on. Seriously?

Let’s see: Troops out of Iraq, a war many people on all sides feared might be be a disaster from the start? DONE. Osama Bin Laden finally stopped for good after over ten years of causing the deaths of American citizens, American troops, and thousands of other innocents? DONE. Averted a massive financial meltdown on the scale of Greece or Iceland by making tough and necessary decisions – not ones pandering to popular opinion? DONE. Delivered on his promise to offer all Americans affordable Healthcare, something so many Democrats – and even Romney – have been proposing for years? DONE.

One can see forward movements all over the country on many issues that directly improve everyone’s quality of life ( including jobs), in a current global financial crisis that has also touched China and India. The grass is not magically greener on the other side. Not surprisingly, in a democratic process that values debate, there are also massive reactionary movements against all of these efforts to simply make life better for us all.

The possibilities for irony and hyporisy will be as plentiful as always during the elections, as those who break many of the moral and legal laws they espouse step on their soapboxes to tell the electorate how they should live. Despite the politicians’ best efforts to prove that there is only one way to live one’s life, every American has the right to pursue his or her liberty and happiness without fear that that inalienable right will be taken away by an overbearing government. No one wants to elect a body of Senators and Congressmen and women who will choose for you if you have enough money to get your sick child the same healthcare as a millionaire, or if you have the right to love someone you can never legally marry, or if you can make the ultimate choice as to what stays in your own body.

Many Republicans agree with Democrats that we should keep the government out of the public’s life, just maybe not on pesky things like over-bearing financial regulation, or tax laws that threaten to even the balance between those who sweat in a factory for an honest day’s pay and those who enjoy the beach while their money accumulates interest in a secretive offshore bank account. Or attractive legislation that seeks to intrude on what you and your legally wedded spouse do in your own bedroom.

As for foreign policy – and the disastrously expensive wars that helped to cause the current financial mess (bombs and prosthetics cost a lot of money and they don’t create jobs either) – does President Obama’s record really fail to meet the level of any previous president? It seems incredibly naive to imagine that the bogeymen outside America’s borders will suddenly disappear should the next president be Republican or white or female. The “Axis of Evil” has and will continually change in our lifetimes and beyond – a revolving rogue’s gallery that includes Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Syria, and any number of other countries dependent on the prevailing winds of action and opinion. Today’s dictator (and head of a country next in line for the same devastation wrought on Iraq and Afghanistan) was yesterday’s ally. When president Obama came into office, the mood of the country demanded our troops leave the Middle East to its own devices. When Libya melted down, the mood shifted to helping the poor Libyans throw off the yoke of the evil dictator Ghadaffi – a man whose popularity in the West has yo-yo’d as often as the price of his oil.

Everyone across the world – of whatever faith, nationality or gender – faces the same basic threats to their right to a safe and happy life. In the Middle East’s “Arab Spring”, the public willingly faced death to demand an end to extremism that stifled their rights. In America during the same period, a far safer public seems to be embracing ever more extremist positions: The Tea Party, Pro choice and Ant-Abortion, Occupy Wall Street, more taxes, less taxes. The loud voices are growing fast. A priest once told me that there was a simple means to reduce conflict in marriage as in other aspects of life: “God gave us two ears and one mouth, so try to listen twice as much as you speak.” Sane voices such as his will be drowned out in the multi-billion dollar media onslaught the public will be facing this year.

Both “sides” in America will argue endlessly as to whether ex-President Bush is responsible for the current financial situation, or whether President Obama could do more to steer the gigantic and colossally complex American Ship of State to safe harbor in this present global storm. In the elections, both the GOP and the Democrats will try to have their cake and eat it too, throwing blame on the other side while heaping praise on themselves. The ones who will lose every time are the poor American public, who simply wish to have satisfying jobs, real love in their lives, and some hope for the future of their country. Not extremist views that pander to the powerful few at the expense of the majority, or that seek to divide the electorate to win votes. The film “Trading Places” was made 30 years ago and yet still there are people not so subtly keeping alive the debate over whether a black man should be running the business. Is this really the best advertisement for the world’s leading democracy?

America is a powerful nation, empowered by democratic consensus. We are all hobbled by economic woes. To some extent this is simply part of the human condition, much like heartbreaks and natural disasters. Stuff just happens, it is not a bed of roses for the whole of a lifetime. The smart thing to do in a crisis is to act smart, not stupid. Let’s hope the next election will be about facts not fiction, about what is best for the whole Human Race, not just one selfish part of it. And yes, maybe a decent box of chocolates now and then.


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