There She Goes Again…

Random Rants from an Arizona Goddess

Politics: Just another Animal Farm (in America)

Published by Just Me under , , , , , , on Wednesday, September 10, 2008



"Lipstick on a pig"
"Good ol' boys network"
The “Race” card
Swift-boat politics
Change is needed vs. Change is coming






It's just another day at the farm. The political farm, that is. From the left we get verbal gaffes, from the right you get shock and snappy retorts. From the right you get canned speeches, from the left you get more and more preached rhetoric. It's like watching mules play ping-pong at the local county fair. With all the muck-raking and mud-slinging going on, it's hard to smell the Kettle Korn. All that’s missing are some yodelers in lederhosen.

I recently played the audiobook of "Animal Farm" by George Orwell for my kids to listen to. All the while they listened intently to the entire story, forcing me to play it where we last left off every time we got into the car to go anywhere. I had originally read and analyzed the book when I was their ages, and so I felt they were old enough to possibly dig into the allegorical nature of the story. I am not sure they really did. Nevertheless, they were entertained, and they did get a bit of understanding of the concepts of utopia, equality and revolution, but it was difficult to for them to comprehend the underlying message of the short story as it relates the history of pre-WWII Soviet totalitarianism. How could they possibly understand the historical significance of Cold War and the related ideas of socialism or communism, when all the buzz words they've heard in the past five years have been about Hussein, bin Laden, war and terrorism, oil and global warming? In time, though, they'll learn more about world history, politics and world wars, and we'll re-visit the book again, if they don't get the opportunity in school.

And all that is going on today reminds me of that book. All this talk about "lipstick on pigs" and all the preaching and rhetoric of "change is needed" and "change is coming" -- I wonder what allegorical novella will be written about American politics in days to come. What farm animals will they come up with portray Kennedy or Nixon, Reagan or Carter, Bush Sr. and GW, and Ma and Pa Clinton? Or will it be more like a Disney cartoon or comic book? Obama with his big ears looking like Dopey of the Seven Dwarves, and Hillary with her pantsuits and big Batman-nemesis plastic Joker smile? Bill with his Big Mac and fat cat cigar in a big ol’ Boss Hogg style horned Cadillac and Dan Quayle with broccoli for a boutonnière? I can see Reagan and GW riding the prairie with ten-gallon Stetsons atop their heads, and Kennedy hot-rodding down the Mass Pike in a James Dean style Porsche Boxster, with Marilyn’s gold lamée dress caught in the door on the passenger side, with no sight of the rest of her body visible through the window.

And that’s no doubt just about exactly how the world sees the Hollywoodesque politics of America. And who can blame them? It’s almost too amazing to watch to not have been a work of fiction. Obama’s celebrity rise into the history books as the first black American candidate for president - McCain’s gut-wrenching real-life story of heroically surviving a harrowing Vietnamese POW camp – Sarah’s appearance from political nowhere straight to a shotgun tiara-wearing ride on the Straight Talk Express down the Alaska Highway to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- You can’t make up stuff better than this.

But what of the real issues of the American voters? Where has the real purpose of representative democracy gone? What has become of the talk of issues like economy and equality, education and health, employment and patriotism? In the middle of all the glitz and glamour, beyond Sarah’s signature specs and Cindy’s flashy bling, Michelle’s misspoken matter of pride and Joe’s “hot wife”, where is the talk about the stuff that really affects Americans?

Now, after 18 long months of celebrity appearances, snappy and rowdy speeches, and millions of dollars worth of banners and conventions and balloons, we know WHO is on the ticket now for each side. FINALLY we are where we should be getting to the meat of each candidate’s platforms. But we’re not. It’s more of the mud and ping-pong war between the “Truth Squad” versus “Obama-Nation.”

Enough already! I want to hear about WHAT “change” they each propose and what it will cost me, as a taxpayer. HOW do these candidates plan to change my life, and for the better? WHEN will all this change take place? And WHERE do they each envision we are going to be as a nation long after they’ve “changed” America and they’ve moved on to dedicating their Presidential libraries, filled with books and artwork and memoirs of their accomplishments? I don’t want to hear it from their speech writers, or read it on the propagandist websites or see it on YouTube, I want to hear it “straight from the horse’s mouth.” This animal is listening; So, Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden, Mr. McCain and Mrs. Palin – start your braying and let’s see if it sounds like “change” after all. Earn my vote with what counts, Real Answers.

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Why is it that we can find so many ways to communicate, that there is so much information out in the world, but yet, who really says anything important or worth listening to? Here, I (one of the many "Wonder Women" in America) join the masses in spewing forth random rants into the sea of intellectual spittle. Varied "editorials" about politics, relationships, sex, money, funny tid-bits, technology... you might find it all here.

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