Where's the Shame?

Imagine me turning into a political blogger! It horrifies me, really. But on the other hand, how can I NOT comment on things I've been seeing online and in the news? On the upside, I did manage to separate my two political blogs with something completely inane and, well, pointless, so I'm not going completely over the edge.

Anyway, I suppose by the title you know where I'm going with this: yes, the McCain campaign. Really, though, I'm not going to yell at the McCain campaign specifically as much as Republicans in general. Lets start with all of the "Real America" and "Anti-America" crap. It's not so much scary that some idiot thought it smart to try to separate our country into to camps, it's the fact that so many people have decided to do it! Since when was it "Pro-American" to put down parts of this very country simply because you don't share the same views? (And I'm not even going to mention the fact that the parts of the country they're putting down tend to be the most populated parts. I mean, if you want to get elected, why antagonize so much of the electorate? Brains have gone right out the door, I tell ya!). But moving on, amongst all of this "Pro-REAL-America" talk is someone even more disturbing: MN's own Rep. Michele Bachmann. She's not content enough to put down at least half of the country for having different views than she has, she thinks that there should be an investigation into all of the anti-American people out there. In other words, she basically wants to throw the first amendment out the window to ensure that everybody around her thinks exactly the way she does. And despite her recent backpedaling, I'm still pretty sure she doesn't think her comments were in any way wrong. Umm, Ms. Bachmann, if there's anybody who's anti-American around here, take a look in the mirror.

Now lets move on to the people standing in line for the McCain/Palin rallies who have so recently started to grace Youtube. Again, if anybody is anti-American, it is these people. I grew up thinking that one of the great things about our country is its diversity, the ability of its citizens to get along despite the many differences and backgrounds of their neighbors. I'm beginning to learn that's not always the case. The party of "Christian Values" is unaccepting of anything different from it, ridicules those who would speak up for the underdog, and is, well, nothing less than a large group of bigots. We've seen videos showing people beating up cardboard pictures of Obama, brandishing monkeys to show their distaste of Obama, yelling at the Obama supporters that they were socialists and/or Communists, calling Obama a terrorist, a Muslim, an Arab, the "Monkey President", "Baby-killer" and more. They revel in their ignorance, flaunt their prejudices and curse everybody who is remotely different from them. They shout downright lies about their candidate's opponent and then yell at the media for debunking those lies.

If my country continues to go down the path I've seen some of my fellow citizens emark on these past few weeks, I may have to start looking for a home abroad. I don't want to have anything to do with a country that embraces such ideas.

And to continue my rant, what's so horrible about the kind of "socialism" these people are yelling about? What's wrong with reducing the taxes for the people who need it most? What's wrong with supporting programs that help the poor? What's wrong with paying police officers, teachers, highway workers and other officials to keep our streets safe and clean and our children educated? If these people are Christians, why are they so scared of helping the poor and helpless? That's one of the main tenants of Christianity for Pete's sake? Not to mention that it's just good economics. If you help the poor, then, wow, you have less need for all those social programs these people are so scared of! All of those "deadbeats" will suddenly have the skills, education and ability to start helping themselves and their families. Not to mention the fact that helping the poor cuts down on crime and healthcare costs and enables cities to remain beautiful and to redirect their resources elsewhere. It's win/win, so what's the problem.

Oh, and don't get me started on one-issue voters (yeah, those pesky pro-lifers). They insist on the sanctity of life, but once they save that baby they abandon it (read my rant above about their fear of helping the poor). They see no need to help educate the ignorant, feed the hungry, house the homeless. If they stopped to think about it, by preventing that abortion they most likely helped cause some of the problems they're so against, because statistically it is the poor who are most likely to get that abortion. And one last thing to add to this: how can so many people who are pro-life also be pro-capital punishment? Isn't that a bit of a contradiction.

Sorry this is long and rambling, I've just had it all rambling around in my head for so long I needed to get it down on the page. If you're lucky I'll leave it as is. If not, I may soon feel the need to expand on each rant individually...

And now I'll leave you with a post from somebody at the Daily Kos who very nearly voiced my very opinion.

Unfit Parents

I have been reminded (by overheard conversations, not by anyway directly) a few times lately that I would be an incredibly unfit mother if I were ever to have a child. Why do I say this, do you ask? It’s because I cannot keep plants alive. In fact, I am an indiscriminate murderer of plants. Put a plant – any plant – in my house and I’ll have it dead within a month. Come to think of it, I’m pretty good at killing plants outside my house, too…

So what does killing plants have to do with being a good parent? Well, apparently the advice that goes around is that, to make sure you’re ready to have kids, start out with buying a plant. Once you are able to keep the plant alive, get a pet. After the pet has thrived in your house for a good period of time, then you’re ready to have a kid. Hmmm. Problem is, while I submit various plants to painful and inhumane deaths, I’ve somehow managed to keep my dog alive for 6 years now. Plus, according to her vet, she is well-fed and well taken care of. So now I’m confused. Does that mean I am or am not ready to have kids? I can keep a dog alive but not a plant. One would think that since a dog is arguably much harder to take care of than a plant, then that should trump my horrible record with plants. But really, if I can’t properly care for something as easy as a plant then maybe I just lucked out with the dog (and the cat, by the way – though I will admit that cats pretty much take care of themselves). Do I have to be able to take care of both plants and animals equally well before I can be entrusted with a child? Did I put my two pets in horrible danger when I adopted them, and are they both hovering over the pit of doom? And what if I am never able to keep plants alive? Does that mean I should never have kids?

Lucky for me I am still a ways away from having a child, so I still have time to improve my record with plants. Maybe, then, it will be a moot point as to whether or not I will be capable. In the meantime, would it be cheating if I started to have only fake plants?