Is This World Politics, Or Reality TV?

Edition #80 — April 13, 2006

Sometimes the world makes no sense — until it does. We all watched the career of George W. Bush begin with outright electoral deception and controversy back in 2000. Six years and one re-election fiasco later, it's no surprise that the trend continues.

Today we find ourselves transfixed by what would have seemed an outrageous state of world affairs during the Bill Clinton era. Remember how innocent everything felt back then? Imagine how different things would have been if George Jr. had merely cheated on his wife like Bill did, rather than cheat on the world.

Imagine if George had done more towards the life of Americans rather than toward the death of foreigners. Imagine if he was in it for the people, not for the power. It may not have stopped the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but it would have made life easier for many of us. And we wouldn't have this dark, ominous cloud of anger, hatred and distrust looming over our planet. We have our hands full with the environment. We don't need warfare and violence to distract us.

Many of us, whether we are American or watching from foreign countries, feel let down by the Bush administration's display of arrogance, greed and outright stupidity. How do we allow things like this to happen? Simple. We put too much power into the hands of too few people.

Trust Me

It would be such a refreshing change to trust a career politician. Not because we're obligated by our party affiliations, but because we actually trust our candidate. Who would have voted for George if running up the US federal deficit to nine trillion dollars had been on his election platform? At this rate he should think about consolidating under one credit card and working two jobs to pay it off.

But the silver lining is that it is an extreme example of WHAT NOT TO DO! Once in a while we need to put our hand on the burner to remember that a stove top is hot. This is what the reign of George Bush Jr. is there for: to remind us of what happens when we get lazy and complacent in our thinking; when we give our power to others and stop exercising it ourselves; when we give top positions to people who don't have the experience and talent to do them properly. This is what the world looks like when "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie!" means that thousands have had to needlessly suffer and die for a compliment no more truthful than the man from whom it came.

Speak Up, I Can't Hear You

It is my hope that we can start to demand more from our world leaders of the future rather than less because anything is better than what we have. Around the world there are people demonstrating. They are making a difference. They may not be able to change the price of gas or the exchange rates, but they are proving that the people still have a say in a democracy.

So what is it that we want to say? And when are we going to start saying it? It is no longer about political parties and loyalties when everyone is equally effected and when that effect is to lessen the value of human life, degrade democracy, and lower the standard of living that our ancestors worked so hard to improve. We must also not fool ourselves that it is men like George Bush who are redesigning the world in their own image. It is a much more tragic story of corporate greed and human slavery to an economy that has no room for humanity in its country club.

Remember, this is our world too. It's time to do the dishes and take out the trash. Whose turn is it?


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