On Politics

I have for the last year resisted making political post on my blog for various reasons I'm not going to get into, but with the elections coming up in the near future I thought I'd give it a go.

I recently sent in my overseas absentee ballot to make sure that no matter how fed up I am with politicians and the political process, I'm at least doing the minimals for civic participation. I got online to watch campaign ads and political debates to get a little background information on the politics of a state I haven't living in for nearly eight years now. I also found on the Minneapolis Metroblogging site an interesting tool from NPR for helping voters determine what issues are in contention this election as well as how one's political views on these issues coincides with the leading candidates. You can check the test out here.
While the results didn't surprise me I was able to more clearly understand where candidates stood in relation to my own concerns and opinions.

Having said all that I want to turn to the issues themselves.

First of all, is the smoking thing. Having been a smoker now for almost fifteen (15!) years now, I'd have to say that I wouldn't exactly be overjoyed if Minnesotans passed a statewide smoking ban, especially since standing outside for even a handful of minutes in the dead of a Minnesota winter is not a prospect I find exhilarating. But having said that, it seems to be the way things are leading and as smokers become pariahs in more and more states it seems more of a question of when rather than if. And I can't say I have too much of a problem with that. Less smokers means cheaper health care in the long run and that's certainly a good thing, not to mention the health benefits for ex-smokers and non-smokers.

That was a nice warm up but now comes a meatier one… Constitutional amendments that define marriage as between a man and a woman. This one really bugs me. Two years ago the state of Ohio passed something like this, banning gay marriage entirely. I would hate to see Minnesota go the same way. In fact, I'm pretty sure I don't understand any of the reasons people have offered to support such nonsense. In the Netherlands it's perfectly legal for same-sex couples to be legally married and while I'm sure there are some who object for whatever reason, it's possible. I had a discussion with a friend of mine lately who said that he's all for gay rights but is put off by the thought of gay men having sex. While I don't share this view I don't think about it either. When I meet or hang out with people I don't visualize them having sex no matter who they are, and even if I did there is no grounds for infringing rights just because a thought I may find repulsive passes through my mind. What are we…five years old?
I liken that attitude to people who won't sit on public toilets because other people have sat there. News flash, I don't eat off my but, so if the seat looks clean chances are it is. In addition studies have shown that toilets are among the cleanest items in a public place, it's the door handle that you actually should worry about. But all this aside my point is that I don't actually imagine other people squatting over the bowl when I need to do my business.
I'm sure it's in poor form to use the analogy of taking a shit to gay sex but it's just an analogy. If you don't like the thought of gay people having sex then don't think about it!
Crimony.
In addition to all this I don't see the economic and social benefit of alienating and oppressing an entire tenth of the population. Many gay people are among the most successful, creative, and hard-working percentage of society. Giving them the same rights as heterosexual couples makes good fucking business sense for strong future communities.

Next issue: Health care. Here's one that we need to seriously rethink. I don't know what percentage of US citizens don't have health insurance, but it's a sizable one. In fact, I'm one of them. Ensuring that everyone has affordable health care should rightly be the goal, and perhaps no one is actually disputing that. The trouble is how to accomplish it.
For one, I do understand the trouble with having socialized healthcare like that in Europe. For one, the quality tends to go down due to lack of competition and increase in the amount of people seeking care. The result is often that people have to wait too long to actually receive the kind of care that they need or the care they receive is not adequate. Here in the Netherlands where health care is socialized you are given a list of doctors based on your post code. The problem here is that these doctors a pretty much assured a steady stream of patients no matter how good their services. I imagine there is some sort of government oversight but I've heard that a typical doctor visit here results in a, “take two aspirin and call me in the morning' type of approach. On the one hand it's good to know that someone who claims to be sick (and may well be) is not immediately subjected to a battery of expensive and often superfluous tests which is one major reason why health care in the US is artificially high. On the other, one does have some doubts that patients are receiving adequate care. I make no claim to know the answers here but it is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with especially since the aging baby boomer demographic will soon be retiring and eventually placing an extremely large burden upon succeeding generations who are declining in number. Trust me, this will be a big issue in the years to come. Also, more focus on preventative medicine (like for instance, tai chi in the workplace) will reduce injury and health problems further down the line. Hey, it works for China.

Which brings me to education. We should certainly focus more on not only the skyrocketing costs of secondary education (which of course is almost a requirement for employment these days) to remain competitive, but we need to get a handle on the quality as well. More monitoring of students progress needs to be done as well in order to ensure that quality is meeting the standards we expect. It seems to me that while more and more education is being required of individuals to succeed in the working world, the quality of that education has actually gone down. I can remember taking freshman English classes where MANY of my classmates actually had difficulty constructing intelligible and grammatically correct sentences. I'm a fan of the idea that all students who have the aptitude and the desire should be able to have access to good quality, affordable education, emphasis on aptitude. For anyone who disputes the idea that students are becoming less intelligent even as the amount of time and money required for their education is increasing should have a look at John Taylor-Gatto's well researched, “The Underground History of American Education”> if you really want to understand what is going on. Nuff said.

Transportation is also a big one. I am very much in favor of increased funding for public transportation. Any city that's worth it's salt has a rail network, whether that be an underground metro system or lightrail (trams). In a country as big as the US, a better national rail system may be out of reach for some time given the overwhelming cost it would require combined with the reality that rail is still not competitive with airlines for long distance travel. However, in cities it's absolutely essential, especially with rising energy costs and concerns of the environment. Viable alternatives to the luxurious “right” to own a car are necessary.

Which leads nicely to perhaps the most talked about foreign issue: the war in Iraq. It's here that I have some difficulties. To begin my discussion of this issue I would like to point out that after 9/11, when it was fashionable to fly a US flag on your vehicle, I was against military intervention, especially in Iraq. Of course, it was always a bit risky admitting that in public at the time since jingoism was running rampant, and criticism of the plans to invade were akin to tacitly supporting terrorism, if not literally funding it. Now, a little short of five years later, there is the real possibility of withdrawing entirely.
Should the Democrats win the Presidency in 2008, that outcome seems virtually assured.
I think it's an understatement to say that the decision to invade Iraq was a mistake….it was a blunder of mind-boggling proportions. Having said that, I'm not sure that I support troop withdrawal. What? Did I really just type that? Yes, yes I did….and here's why.
We have turned a functioning, if despotic, country into a lawless, partisan, pile of desert slag. We destroyed nearly all the infrastructure and allowed for the rise of sectarian violence. I think if anything we need to send more troops over there, to make sure the job gets done right, if indeed the whole reason for us being there is to convert Iraq to a functioning democracy.
But JC, the Iraqi people don't want us there, our troops a being killed on a daily basis, and the situation seems to be getting worse, not better.
As for the people not wanting us there, I'm not sure that they ever really did, and if they didn't would that have stopped us? Maybe we should stop pretending that we ever gave two shits about the Iraqis and face up to the fact that we made a really big mess and not fixing it will most likely have worse repercussions than the ire of the international community. Walking away from the mess we made like the bunch of spoiled rich children that we are basically reduces our international credibility to none, assuming there is any left anyhow. And about the fact that our President and all his cronies lied to us? Deal with it you wimps because that's what happened and if you were too stupid initially to realize that then let this be your official welcome to the real world. Here is a fact: when you go to war, people die, including your own, that will always be true. But go ahead bring 'em all back if you want and then the memories of all those who died (and continue to die) will be tainted with the bitter regret that it was for absolutely fucking nothing at all. Then again, perhaps that's dying for nothing is better than dying to establish a modest amount of regional stability in a land that holds one of the worlds last, significant untapped oil cache. Perhaps we should look at little bit closer to home at our own lifestyles which celebrate the ownership of a car and the access to cheep petrol as a natural right. But then again, why start thinking now? What's the point of coming to terms with a legacy of exploitation and reckless consumption at this juncture? I've met more than one person who is perfectly fine with the idea that we are only in Iraq for the oil. I've had more than my share of conversations with people who are at least bold enough to own up to the fact that when it comes to the lives of foreign people vs. cheap gas that it's 'better them than us.' So have the intentions of the US always been control of the mind fields? Quite frankly yes. Is it possible that we might still be able to make a democracy out of Iraq? Yes, if we have the manpower to do it. If we pull out and a civil war breaks out, will there be anything we can do about it? No. And that is almost guaranteed to happen if we do. Good thing Iran is right next door to stir the pot. If we withdraw our troops it will be that much easier for other countries to ferment unrest, promote jihaadism, and fund proxy armies than ever before. Way to go America! way to really avoid thinking about anything in other than black and white!
As for the situation getting worse, I agree. You'd have to be blind not to understand that. The real question is this. Will things continue to get worse even if we increase our military presence to level that would realistically be capable of accomplishing the goal of a democratic Iraq, or would things be worse if we left Iraq to it's own devices? It's a choice between two evils, but it's a decision we need to make.

I think that is more than enough to chew on. Should you want to know more about how I feel about other political matters, please feel free to email me. Also, don't be shy. Leave a comment about how full of shit I am if you like. You can always do it anonymously.