Today there are two major topics on the lips and minds of a lot of people: the economic crisis and the upcoming election for the US presidency. Aside from the fact I am less bored with the latter subject, I believe it to be more important than the first.
This might seem a little bit strange since the economic crisis affects a lot of people in a real way (at least in the USA) . But I believe that this crisis is merely a symptom of a problem that can only be fixed on a government level, by legislation and law.
Of the elections nothing really gets more attention that the presidential debates. It really seems the only place where things are kept civil, since outside of the studio lights we see large slander campaigns going on. Something which is a bit of a weakness, really, since it’s based on winning through preying on your opponents (supposed) weaknesses rather than your own strength.
Anyway I digress.
The debates are there for swing voters, possibly to only sensible voter you can find. They are the people that base their vote on what they see and hear rather than what the name of their party is.
Of course the media usually backs one of the two candidates so it’s still a toss-up whether you watch FOX or ABC news. The best opportunity to form an adequate opinion is during the debate, where you can judge the candidates on what they say, rather than what they supposedly said according to their opponent.
Then there are the no-voters. People that protest by not voting, simply because they don’t think it will make a difference. They do have a point. If you look at how many nasty tricks are being pulled to (for example) exclude votes of certain groups of people to shift the result it’s not a surprise people lose heart.
However not-voting is about as helpful as screaming for water in the middle of an abandoned waste land. By not-voting you also leave it up to the rest of the mob, who is no doubt going to vote. You completely lose any control and chance to make a difference. It also makes you most likely an outcast in any political debate. So it’s best to pretend or choose the lesser evil.
To close this post I wanted to share an oldie that reminded me somewhat of an old animation I remember from childhood.
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YouTube Direktheight="355"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFPVCfQ7uxM[/youtube