The leaden weight of democracy is crushing my radical political spirit... the deepening realization that the sovereign people are not interested in much more than cheap gas and a sense of identity through jingoistic patriotism. My wish list of utopian ideals includes democracy; hence for it to be adopted requires it to appeal to the greater portion of the population. Perhaps it is nothing more than war fever trumping all other political considerations... a "popular" president working hard to translate that polled favor into domination of the government organs. If this is the case, then democracy (or at least, a republic) can never, ever work. If all it takes to simplify the issues and manhandle the process is talk of war and a focus on some carefully chosen enemy, and angry incumbent can always play this card... as long as their timing is right. How can one call for an enlightened republic when the people line up to offer their gratitude and support to a right wing zealot, one who would place the church at the cornerstone of the government (secular government was once our salvation, our defense, and our rescuer from medieval religious insititutions... now how shall we protect ourselves?), one who would limit access to information about our governments workings, about health care, and about the wars fought in our name? How can one dream of a better day, when the "demos" have sworn allegiance to the "way things were," to imperial nightmares, in spite of the facts, that this government has seen on its watch successful foreign attacks on our soil, the crumbling of our economy and our faith in its rather corrupt institutions, the loss of whatever respect many of he world's peoples had for us, and a frontal assault on our rights as affirmed in the country's founding documents? The frontier mentality has been transmuted into an oligarchic, ostrich-like, consumer mentality; leaving any of those of us who wished for more progress in a full state of seige mentality... Women are as yet second class citizens, kept there by men and women alike. Other nations are mere providers of labor and raw materials, except as we need them to join in our war resolutions or free trade negotiations. What can be said of the human spirit, outside of family-oriented platitudes, in a time like this? What can be dreamed of a future, when it seems like we have already lost the future, the future we had and were living, to be forced back to stand guard over the past? The dreamer must compromise, as we all know; but what if the compromise is to even give up the condition that led to the dream in the first place? There is something horribly unacceptable about the state of politics in America today. 11/7/02 - 11:59 PM 
© Huw Powell
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