Today is the day proceeding Election Day and there is no time where patriotic sentiment runs higher. A competition arises between presidential candidates as to their national pride. And a great argument is engendered among citizens as to what vote will most benefit the country.

Senator John McCain’s nationalist slogan “Country First” implies invidiously that Senator Barack Obama won’t put the country first–as if Obama’s proposed “Change” will be a strike against the country. Obama claims otherwise, that his “Change” will strengthen the country.

But I’m rather put off by all the pageantry and this contest for Mr. Patriarch of America. I’m tired of listening to these unctuous politicians and their meretricious monologues about “this great country.” How can any man look out earnestly upon this society and be proud?

How could you overlook the fact that over 2.25 million Americans are incarcerated (2006)? How could you overlook the fact that 63% percent of American children do not grow up with both biological parents How could you not realize what this statistic indicates about the of our countries social health? How could you miss the fact that 9.5% U.S. adults–that’s about 18.8 million people, suffer from a depressive illness , where millions and millions more self-medicate themselves with illicit drugs or alcohol? How could you dismiss the fact that over 32,000 Americans commit suicide in a single year , even where many suicides go unreported due the stigma our culture attaches to it?

Photo by qwrrty

Is it really rational to get so worked up with anger and hate over this presidential election?

We’re fast approaching Election Day, but I’m not rallied behind one candidate or the other. I’m not struck with anticipation for Nov. 4. Would it be a crime to say I’m rather ambivalent?

Presidential Candidate John McCain even visited my home town, Durango, Colorado, just a week ago. It was the first time a presidential candidate had visited Durango in 48 years, but I really didn’t feel the need to hear him speak. What was he going to say that I hadn’t already heard before?

I could have marched outside the gates in protest with an Obama sticker on my forehead. I could have made myself a fancy McCain sign and cheered in the crowd. But I just can’t buy into that nonsense. How absolutely foolish all these folks look in their big white McCain/Palin sweaters and in their SUVs with “Obama/Biden ‘08″ bumper stickers. What kind of persuasive tactic is that anyway? It’s not an appeal to reason, that’s for sure.

Politics is this big absurdity. We all recognize it. We all know how dirty and unsavory it is. It’s about men with money and connections soliciting the vote. They’re not appealing to any noble standard of truth or harmony or righteousness. We don’t vote for a politicians because they are honest, or because we trust them. Its a big game–a tantalizing theatrical performance–where each player appeals to as many people as possible while revealing the least about what they really think. The candidates hand out promises in the form of tax-cuts and energy policies, like handing out candy to children and asking for their favor. In return, American’s vote for the man who promises them the most sugar and the actual direction of the nation as a whole is an afterthought.

As much as the big two candidates stress their differences, really, for all practical intents and purposes, they’re leading American in the same direction–the way it’s been headed for a long time. They only have trivial differences about the best manner to get to the same destination. Obama might offer government health insurance to citizens, which is just one additional step in many taken in the past toward a more socialist government. But McCain wants to establish a New New Deal, but this time instead of socializing the highway construction like Roosevelt did in the 1930s, we’ll be socializing the construction of nuclear power plants. In addition, both candidates backed the final draft of the bailout plan to spend $700 billion in tax payer dollars to rescue the financial industry, which gave the U.S. government partial ownership of many major banks.

McCain and Obama are both behind the continuing expansion of government. When I first heard Obama speak of “Change” I fantasized for a moment that he really meant to challenge the current paradigm of growing government. But I’ve found he represents the same paradigm with a new face and some unoriginal ideas. He’s just a politician. His message and his campaign are not revolutionizing politics. The supposed “fundamental change” he says he is going to bring this country, just isn’t fundamental enough. It’s not fundamental at all! But at least he is straight-forward about his intent to increase government spending.

McCain still speaks of the dying ideals of conservatism, and if I felt he really meant them, perhaps I would even vote for him. I like the “I’m-not-going-to-continue-to-throw-money-at-a-problem” McCain. I like the “freeze-government-spending” and the “I’m-a-Federalist” McCain. But Republicans like McCain will hail free markets, small government and power to the states when everything is fine, and when there’s a predicament like 9/11 or the housing crisis they swipe up unwarranted power and abuse it without a second thought and we end up with the Bailout Plan and the PATRIOT Act.

Whichever way you vote, this country heads down the same path. This is no revolution! Despite this, tensions run especially high between opposing parties. The streets are loose with blue and red zealots. Neighborhoods are split apart, marked overtly by yard signs that might as well read, “We don’t serve blacks.” Idiots from each faction hurl stupid insults at each other. What madness it is to believe so whole-heatedly in any politician! These people look and act like buffoons.

Photo by Bob Bobster

A family divided.

I’m not likely to vote for president in 2008. I’m sure there are folks out their who will hear this and gasp as if it’s an utter sacrilege, but I really think that abstention is the only respectable decision. It’s undignified to cast a vote for the lesser of two evils, especially when they are practically one in the same. And I’m definitely not going take part in this ridiculous political warfare, that divides families and communities.

When it comes down to it, politics is a very limited realm. Only so much can be accomplished with money and power. There is so much more that we can accomplish outside of political systems. It’s time to forgo the presidential rallies; let’s reunite with our neighbors and forget our party affiliations. Let’s take a personal investment in our communities. Let’s have an affect on the people in our lives. This is where real tangible progress is made. In the smiles and the warm embraces of those we love. Let’s have faith in our own power to bring good into the lives of the people nearest us. Whatever we do, we cannot place our faith in politics.

Photo by Barack Obama

Here's an energetic group of young change-makers in Arkansas registering voters to benefit democracy--no bias whatsoever.

The front page of USA Today reported today on a record-breaking season for voter registration as we approach the 2008 presidential election. It was reported that the Democrats gained 800,000 voters, while the Republicans lost 300,000 voters. Some would call it a victory for Democracy.

The leagues of folks with their clipboards and their registration forms stand just outside the door to your favorite bakery. They stand proud and upright as if they are doing a service for democracy, but this is no philanthropist’s mission. These people are strategically targeting you. They pose behind kindly smiles, but they aren’t just aiming to get you registered, they’re not pining for true democracy, they’re aiming to sell their party.

Expectedly, the article in USA Today specifically focused on numbers in terms of party affiliation. There was no report on the number of independent voters registered. Who the bleep cares about the independents, that disloyal backstabbing bunch, right? The ones who actually think for themselves and don’t subscribe to any political dogma. The ones who will not sell their soul and will not sell their vote.

The racket of the dual party system invaded the mainstream media long ago. They’ve long succeeded in delegitimizing independent voices. Let’s be honest with ourselves and recognize that this isn’t a democracy, this is a mob war. Let’s not fool ourselves. These men and women with their clipboards want their respective mob bosses to win. They carouse about friendly neighborhoods searching for a few unwary chaps to join the gang. The Democrats set up base camp on liberal college campuses, and the Republicans conduct voter registration in their church parking lots. They’re not interested in encouraging a more educated vote. They just want you to take a blood oath and declare your party affiliation.

Before I go on, I must admit there are a few folks who actually mean well. In fact, I have a good friend who took a clipboard and registration forms down to Main Avenue, and I know he’s not rooting for one party or the other. He explained to me that he just wanted to provide people the opportunity to vote. I do believe his intentions were noble, but I must still respectfully object to any campaign for voter registration on principle.

Here’s what I think: If a person doesn’t have the time or motivation to register to vote, they most definitely don’t have time to know what’s going on in politics. Isn’t that logical? God knows, some of us have wonderful lives outside of the political mob scene. Thank goodness for that. And thank goodness there are folks out there who don’t feel the need to impose their reckless opinions upon others.

Here’s to all of you unregistered folks out there. Thank you for standing strong. There’s no shame in abstaining from business that you have no interest in. It would certainly be a shame if you were just filling in the ovals because someone told you to. Thank you for fending off the mob and their incessant racket. We’d have a far more democratic country if more people minded their own business like you.

What is truly shameful, is the man or woman who has never given careful thought to life or liberty and out of weakness has submitted his or her independent mind to the will of one mob or the other. These people, in compromising themselves, have effectively disrespected and spit in the face of every individual who thinks for himself. What is more contemptible, though, is the arrogant man or woman who uses his vote ignorantly to impose his moral opinion upon others. This type of voter is an oppressor.