"Why do people think that voting will change their conditions? Every 4 years the candidates say pretty much the same thing as the prior candidates. Yet the conditions don't really change. I wonder why people go down the same road thinking they will arrive at a different destination."
First off, I'd like to thank 'G' for his or her question and observations- and also for visiting my site. So, here's my commentary on the issue of people's hopes, dreams and sometimes misguided faith in the electoral process in the United States.
Whether following a politician, a sports team or a television show that we like, human nature gravitates towards certainty. Even if that certainty is bad. There's a saying that, "the slavery you know is better than the freedom you don't know."
And that saying applies to people's voting habits. Now, there is a small part in every human being that is willing to believe in miracles, but it's just too easy to support a sure fire losing situation.
Before the Obama phenomenon, you could almost set your watch by people's cynical and sarcastic view of improving our economy, educational system and standing in the world. And while cynics and pundits have been foaming at the mouth for the past year, there is a newness, or better yet, a rejuvenated American spirit that both Obama and McCain supporters have been expressing. This reenergized spirit was evident in the electorate during the primary season as well.
However, the decades prior to this era brought us trickle-down economics, the Iran-Contra scandal, urban blight, white flight, escalating rates of HIV/AIDS infections, a Gulf War, a Bosnian/Serbian conflict, the 1993 WTC bombing, the Florida 2000 Voting disaster, a second WTC attack, another Iraq War coupled with a war in Afghanistan, a housing crisis, a climate crisis, blistering gas prices, Katrina, a lower standing in the world and a War on Terror just to name a few of the minor problems of our society from the past two decades.
At this point, Chuck-E-Cheese could run for the presidency and get some traction. From the beginning of time, people have always had a desperate need to believe in something... anything. Considering the few events that I named from the past 20 years, is it any wonder why churches, synagogues, mosques, chat rooms, nightclubs, bars and group therapy sessions are overflowing?
People are in desperate need of an improvement-not just a change but an improvement in their outlook on life, their country and themselves. Which leads us to why people as you say 'go down the same road thinking they will arrive at a different destination.' At the risk of sounding flippant, people are generally stubborn. Me included!
However, stubbornness is not always a bad thing-if that stubbornness seeks productive outcomes through productive means.
And yes, there is a great deal of stubbornness that underlines the beauty of the democratic process, but stubbornness undergirded by gradualism and bureaucracy certainly beats tyranny, hopelessness and defeatism anyday.
So like gamblers with cynical worldviews and sarcastic outlooks, We the People will still journey to the polls on November 2nd hoping to hit that jackpot of strong leadership that will at least lessen our burdens and decrease our worries.
Stubborn, sarcastic, confused and defiant, we will let that small glimmer of 'what if' cast a ballot for the mere possibility of less expensive fuel, affordable housing, access to quality health care, an increased food supply and financial aid beyond Federal Stafford loans...
...and being stubborn myself, I believe that we just MIGHT (I repeat MIGHT) make a decision this November 2nd that will positively impact November 3rd and beyond.
That's my opinion. Thanks again for your comment.
- JG
