A Union State of Mind

Our next war might be Civil.

I've tried to stay out of politics for the last week because I was so heavy-handed from the get-go; I also know that everyone else is writing about politics, too. It can be overwhelming, and I didn't want to add more fuel to the fire. Too bad I remembered today that this is my blog and I can do what I want.

You all know I don't support Sarah Palin. It's abundantly clear, and most of you aren't fooled by her, either. But when I think about it, I don't really hate Sarah Palin. I hate everyone who loves her.

I can understand a person growing up in a particular set of circumstances and adhering to their family pasttimes, like slaying giant beasts together and joining a wackjob church; it's backwater ALASKA, and they can't drink ALL the time. It's not for me, but much like my feeling about the U.S. Army, they do it so I don't have to. I can even understand believing in complete and total bollocks, especially if you're the sort of person who was raised to believe that the End Days' are upon us; think about how weird it must be to think that the end of the world is near--and that you have a one-way ticket to Moose Heaven with Big Jeezy in the very near future. There are some people in this world--many, actually--who have never questioned the status quo, and fear the end result of straying off the beaten path: maybe their family will ostracize them, or they won't fit into their community, or Baby Jesus might fall down a well. Whatever the reason, it keeps them stuck in their ancient thinking and fear of the unknown, AND I UNDERSTAND THIS. I get why Sarah Palin is so atrocious, but I don't hate her anymore; I hate the human condition.

I watched the Daily Show last night, and it was very disappointing. Not because Jon Stewart didn't deliver (although his cohorts are impressing me less and less lately), but because he showed THAT VIDEO (the one I'm embedding here, of course--I like to perpetuate cycles that go nowhere).



To see one woman out there--a woman who probably represents thousands, even millions of Americans--that is so grossly misinformed, and stoking that big ol' Fear Fire, is far more depressing than four more years of the same old thing. I know, she was probably raised that way, too, but for some reason, I don't understand her at all; I'm just frightened by her. When John McCain has to stand up for Barack Obama because of the racist vitriol coming out of his supporters' mouths, that says nothing about him and everything about the people (although I'm glad he tried being semi-decent for once). The Straight Talk Express is becoming somewhat of a PR nightmare since the people doing the straight-talking are talking straight out of their asses. It's humbling to witness, and scary, too. I'm pretty sheltered up here in Seattle, where we have more licensed massage therapists than registered conservatives, so I'm astounded by how the rest of the country thinks and lives. Although I don't know how much 'thinking' is really going on. I'm talking to you, Arkansas.

If Obama carries the election, then I will shout a big hurrah--but after seeing some of the McCain supporters and hearing their voices on the internet, we're going to need more than just Obama. This is dividing the country more than I thought it would, but I'm always a wary optimist. I wonder if there is anything that can be done, or if Barack Obama really is the next Lincoln. The South might rise again, you never really know; them's some resilient folks, y'all.

I hope I get some Confederate flag ads from this post, although I gotta say: the Christian Masturbation ad keeps popping up on the sidebar, and it's totally making my day.

[RADWORDS]: CONFEDERATE FLAG, ARKANSAS, DAILY SHOW, ABE LINCOLN, BALLS