Tuesday, July 26, 2005

The More I Know...

Lest anyone think the shock of my fiftieth birthday sent me off the deep end… I am still kickin’. We did a five-day event last week, from Wednesday through Sunday, not including set-up earlier in the week, and returning to the fairgrounds to pick up the trailer yesterday evening. Between that, and trying to recover from the back injury, I haven’t had much time or inspiration to journal. Thankfully, the back thing seems to be working itself out. I actually walked over four miles this afternoon…upright, in the manner of a true homo sapien. There were times during the last couple of weeks when I thought I would never again attain that uprightness of posture. Thought I’d been reduced to Quasimodo stature for the rest of my natural life…

During the slow times at the County Fair, I had the opportunity to do some political reading. No internet connections out at the fairgrounds, so I actually had to resort to reading books and magazines. I bought the current issue of Newsweek (the one with Karl Rove’s contemptible face on the cover) to catch up on that mess. And I dove into a book I bought on Marigolds2’s recommendation—War Made Easy. At some future date, when I have more time to do an in-depth post, I’ll go into more detail about both of these. The reading makes me uneasy. Lately, I find myself afflicted with a malady that anyone who decides to educate oneself about matters political must contract at some point: utter hopelessness.

The more I read about American politics, both current and past, the more I become convinced that we are truly beyond hope. That government is not about the will or the benefit of the people. That it is about subterfuge, power-brokering, aspirations of global dominance, and making sure that the pockets of the richest of the rich, who pay generously for the privilege, are continuously and heavily lined. The only use our government has for the everyday Joe is to manipulate him into lining up behind whatever campaigns those in power want to advance. They somehow manage to keep us believing that "We the people" have a voice, and that our leaders listen to us. That our votes actually count for something, and that the most powerful people in the government got there through some kind of Constitutionally ordained process.

The more I know, the more I wish I could go back to being blissfully ignorant…

14 comments:

  1. Happy Happy Birthday!!  Glad you  are still kickin'   :-)   glad the back injury is improving...take care!

    ~  www.jerseygirljournal.com

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  2. Happy belated birthday!!!  You know what they say about delving into politics and religion... Yup, sometimes it makes one think if she/he will be happier if she/he does not have the cognitive facility...

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  3. Excellent entry as usual. I don't think I'm ready to give up yet. I'm trying to find time to do some heavy duty reading in the British and US history books I already have. There is definate difference in the mind set we have now and the majority of the founders. Once there was the idea that those who were more fortunate owed it to society, and themselves to give something back. They knew they didn't get there on their own. That is not the mindset we have now. What kills me is the lip service to the commandments, especially the ones about lying and coveting.

    Jackie

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  4. I agree. During the impeachment I wanted to find out what made the Nixon impeachment  and Iran Contra different then the Clinton impeachment and a nookie fib.... so I started digging into history, following names, etc. What I discovered scared the bejesus out of me, esp where the Bush family is concerned. I agree that we the people have very little control and I don't see it getting better. Hopefully I'm just jaded and things aren't as bad as they seem.
    Happy Birthday. : )
    Candace

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  5. The more I know, the more I wish I could go back to being blissfully ignorant…



    Maybe this is what propells me....maybe.


    No chance you are working the Tri-city boat races is there???  If so we live two little blocks from the launch pad and I come find you.  :)  (I don't mean that in a stalker way either.)

    ckb

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  6. hopelessness about the political machine?  Who'd have thunk it?  I get this way sometimes but rest assured the hopelessness will soon be replaced by the sheer outrageousness of it all.  You have a calling and deep down you know you must answer it.  So take a break and read something frivolous or something spiritual (frankly I suggest any Harry Potter book--its good vs evil and this time good always wins in the end).  Give your mind a short break from politics.  Come back refreshed and kick some Republican ass!  Politics may be hopeless but humanity is not....

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  7. all politics is is entertainment.    real change is instigated by cultural change.    all politics does is react to that change.    cynical?    you bet.    20 years as a political reporter here

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  8. And that is why I stay quiet about my deepest political feelings.  I often sound cynical and skeptical ... better to let my friends rant and rave and believe that they can change the world.  Pennie

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  9. we are so on the same page, ...i am having a bear of a time with a slipped disk in my neck, i just turned 49 & 50 freaks me out, I shudder every time i read the paper....this sux
    marti

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  10. I've been doing some hobnobbing over at the Blue Voice too. One horror exposed after another. I had to go private for a while, but Lisaram has the key.

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  11. Glad to hear your back is doing better!

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  12. The phrase "dirty politics" wasn't coined frivolously, but if you are reading past history, don't you find there have been some pretty dark political episodes which we survived? I couldn't agree more with some of your statements, but still feel (perhaps naively) that there are enough of us watchdogs in the fourth branch (i.e., We the People) to exercise some check and balance.  Just as the corporate moguls never really know which products consumers will vote for with their dollars, I choose to believe that politicians can't always truly predict if they (or whomever they work for) will be re-elected or not.  Despite the megahuge influence of propaganda techniques, I think everyday Joe/Jane cannot be totally manipulated.  What scares me is that I almost feel the opposite of your fears--that the Republicans are picking up on what the majority of Americans do want on the big issues and advancing that agenda; that our current administration is about the will of the people.  I'm not convinced that anti-gay rights, pro-life, fundamentalist, right-wing candidates will continue to be elected in the next few years if the majority of Americans do not truly support those views in their hearts and minds.  That's why I, too, almost (but not quite) feel we are beyond hope.   The only reason I don't abandon all hope is voices like yours.  xo debbi      

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  13. I cannot give you any words of encouragement.  I think the white house is currently evil, pure evil.  We are living in dark times and the PRESS is failing the people as much as the people are failing the people.  I wish I could take a large glass of ice water and just throw it on the sheep whiling screaming WAKE THE &*#% UP!

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  14. Lisa-
    I couldn't agree with you more. What in the world is happening to our country? I feel that the more politcal nonsense I hear and read about, the sicker I get. But also I get more determined in some way to "speak out" in any way I can. It may not do much or mean much, but it's somehting. I have also been trying to write an intelligent entry about Karl Rove and now this idiot Bolton. I truly wonder if President bush is trying on purpose to destroy this great country. Hmmm? Makes you wonder doesn't it?

    Another great entry from you always,
    Gayla
    http://journals.aol.com/schoolgal040/SoMuchMore

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