I remember the days of Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., and Bill Clinton. I remember the political jokes on Saturday Night Live back when it was, you know, funny, and I remember political cartoons and stand-up comedians turning the ludicrousness of modern American politics into something bearable.
But the last four years, I’ve watched as Lewis Black, Dave Barry, Jon Stewart, and other political comedians have metamorphosed from smiling pokers of fun to angry and cynical hacks.
The jokes have worn thin, the smiles have regressed into grimaces, and our nation’s political entertainers have grown exhausted.
But it’s not their fault. Anyone, no matter how comically creative, would grow weary at the same old mistakes, the same old idiocy, the same old selfishness and egotism, the same old apathy to the nation’s people and interests.
Even I, for my short tenure of writing, have done the same. More often than not, in my online journal and by gracing (or perhaps smearing) these pages with my attempt at painting a laughing sheen over the events of the day, have trouble, more often than not, at keeping the humor fun and light, instead of dark and weary as politics around us continues to degrade.
Three weeks from the election, and I’ve stopped laughing. I don’t think I’m the only one.
Instead of poking fun, I can only point out the flaws and idiocy of the candidates, the State Questions, and the entire election process with a sigh. I can no longer joke about where our country is headed with a smile, only a defeated look.
And I’m no longer even suggesting that the populace go and vote, let alone vote for a particular candidate. You see, I have lost the ability to care.
I hate to write with a defeatist attitude, but I’m not sure there is anything we can do to stop this downward spiral that our country is in.
Perhaps, with picking the right candidate, we can slow or even temporarily reverse this degradation of American politics, but it will not last. Our government, is, for lack of a better term, going down the friggin’ toilet.
Our rights continue to be chiseled away for the interest of “combating terrorism” (Patriot Act, Patriot Act II), protecting corporate interests (DMCA, INDUCE Act), and forcing morality onto others (Gay Marriage Ban, TK). A war is being fought, with the lives of our friends at stake, to protect oil interests and exact revenge. Our government continues to outright lie to us, and we are almost powerless to stop it.
Granted, some of these rights-redacting bills have been shut down, killed in
Congress, ignored, or pulled apart by the Supreme Court. But we, as a populace, still try to claim our that our freedom is best while the rest of the world glances away in embarrassment, while our rights are impugned, our friends are killed, our morality tested, and our choice remains only the choice between a lesser of two evils.
This, to me, is no longer a laughing matter.
Republican or Democrat? The question no longer applies. They’re just two sides to the same coin.
So what do I recommend to change the nation? Revolution? Third party inclusion? Term limit and campaign contribution reform amendments? None of the above, actually.
I believe the dissent and disgust for our current structure of government, our election systems, and how our lives are handled and controlled, will reach critical mass sometime in the near future, and the situation will change, only to repeat itself in another 200 years.
Despite all this, I will still walk into that voting booth on Nov. 2, 2004, with dark determination on my face, and, like a steward on the Titanic with a thimble and a death wish, I will cast my ballot to utterly fail to change the structure of our nation. Again, and as always, here’s to hoping.
Originally printed with permission in The Daily O’Collegian, October 13, 2004
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