It's easy to hop on the bandwagon of pessimism in an election year. It's easy to spot those that have jumped on-board by their blood-shot eyes from watching CNN and their fatalistic nihlism. They're discouraged by the quality of their choices, the system, the negative campaigning, and their idiot fellow voters. The nature of campaigning is partly to blame. Each side of an election has to convince its voters that their lives will be awful, nigh unto destroyed, if the other guy is elected. And this year we have the added doom and gloom of a financial crisis on a large scale.
It's enough to start a Prozac riot, but don't run for your torch and pitchfork just yet. You will see that your 401K is not half empty, but half full.
Believe it or not, the Founding Fathers did know what they were doing when they set up a constitutional republic 200-odd years ago. Here are a few reasons the nation will not crumble to rubble on January 20, 2009 however the election turns out.
Term Limits: Ah, the magic catapult on the top floor. No matter how popular a President, no matter how accomplished, how intelligent, how revered - after 4 or 8 years, the collective people kick him head first out the door and down the steps and look for someone else. No regimes, no dynasties, no long term manipulation of the government.
A Two-Party System: I hear so many people complain that they want more than 2 choices or that they vote for "the lesser of two evils", etc. The most important thing a two-party system does is force the candidates to please the middle majority. Think about it. If there were 5 candidates, they only have to worry about getting the most votes, not a majority, so they can afford to be more extreme and win by only appealing to 20% of the population. Having two moderate choices is better than 5 wackos, really. Still don't believe me? Try reading the platforms of the libertarian or green party candidates on the ballot. Do you really want these guys to have a serious shot at the white house?
A Resilient History: Like dramatic teenagers, we have a tendency to think that our troubles now are the worst ever! Lest we forget - this country was forged in the furnace of war and rebellion. It has seen world war on its shores, civil war, economic depression, presidential assasination and impeachment, and the rise of reality TV. And yet it not only survives, but flourishes.
So even though you may think we are surely at the doorstep of Hades with corrupted leaders, economic greed, a poor education system, racism, poverty, and celebrity activists, this nation really is, in the words of William J. Bennett, "The Last Best Hope". Where else in the world do they have pet food drives and fundraisers to save lobsters?
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Smile, You're not Dying of Dysentery
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14 comments:
Loved this blog. During the last election when people were frustrated with the hubub created by the close election, a political analyst pointed out that a close election was a goood thing. People who don't like close elections should go to Cuba.
I agree with you on the resilient hitory. We survived the Savings & Loan (S&L not SNL) meltdown. We survived the energy crisis of the early 70s. We survived the cold war. We survived acid rain. So, we should feel confident that we'll get through toxic loans, $4 gasoline, Al Qaida, and global warming.
I'd like to poke a hole in your theory. Term limits become irrelevant when you keep in mind that the world is ending in 2012. The president we're electing right now is going to be our LAST PRESIDENT EVER. When you stop and ask yourself who you want in the White House when the apocalypse happens, it becomes a much more serious question.
Don't argue with the Maya.
And why isn't anyone using this gem of knowledge in their campaign?
Tim, we're surviving SNL too. Not like the good ol' days...
Hey, Kristine, I've done my own Aztec calculation for armageddon and I came up with 2058 - a one reed year when the white god, Quetazlcoatl, is supposed to return. But in either case, I don't think it matters who's in the driver's seat.
Oh, it matters. The last impression we give the world is the one they'll remember after the world ends.
One day, we're all going to be chilling around the post-mortal watercooler, and someone's going to ask you, "So, where did you spend your mortal sojourn?"
And you'll say, "Well, I moved around a bit, but I mostly stayed in the United States."
Now, do you want their response to be a high five, or ANOTHER Sarah Palin joke? Think about it...
I guess my response to any criticism of this country would be to ask what it was like to die of dysentery, malnutrition, intestinal worms, or female circumcision.
Sounds like you boarded the Doom and Gloom Express, Kristine. My advice is get off. now. Pessimism is bad for your complexion.
Doom and gloom? Not I! I find life much more bearable and amusing when put in the context of 2012 being the end of times. I'm never going to have to repay my BYU grant. I'm never going to turn 30. My hair will never turn gray. I'm never going to need reading glasses. I don't have to care what happens to my 403b. No worries! Hakuna Matata!
I probably will be a little doomy and gloomy if I wake up in January 2013 and the world is still spinning, and we just wrapped up 12 straight years with government leaders who can't pronounce "nuclear" and make better SNL skits than anything else. But until then, I'm good. :)
Who cares when the world will come to an end? Tomorrow, 2012, 2069...who cares. Regardless of who has been the leader of the free world in the past, or who will be the "leader" in January or who will be the "leader" in 2098 I have been and forever will be proud to be an American.
Amen to that, Heather! I loved Boyd K. Packer's last talk for just that reason.
Kristine, try singing, "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today", because I KNOW you love it, deep, deep inside!
I'm not smart with words....so all I can say is I'll be proud to say I lived in the time of President Hinkley, Monson and during the time when we had the fullness....president or no president, United States, or Iraq....what better leadership than that of what we have in the church today!
:) I'm so glad you remember my deep and abiding hatred for "Sunshine in My Soul." But guess what--I've come to LOVE that song! No, really. Ever since last spring, when my beginners decided that "sunshine" sounds like a Chinese word, so they went around saying it in the most horrible, politically incorrect Chinese accents ever. I couldn't condone it in my classroom, but secretly, I thought it was pretty hilarious. And now I can't help adding the accent to all the sunshine hymns, and end up laughing so hard that I can't make it through all the verses. (Kristen and I are still just as bad, possibly worse, than when we were MiaMaids... Do you remember when Sister Heninger called us "chatter mouses"? We still think it's cute and wear the title proudly!)
Good to hear from you Camille ! You are absolutely right, thank goodness for church leadership.
I'm a big fan of your blog so I hope you don't mind me posting comments.
This 2012 theory sounds pretty "nucular" to me! The whole idea of "entering into His rest" yawn, sounds pretty enticing (who am I kidding, I want my hair back lol).
But I'm still a big proponent of the putting one foot in front of the other endeavor, until the end, whenever that is. And I'm convinced that it will be a much more pleasant adventure if I do it with a smile.
I did have to hold my side when I read the "nuclear" comment, touche'!
Mr. Happy, we welcome all commenters here unless they are profane, vulgar, or Barry Manilow fans. I went to your blog and you have a lovely family. But I have to say, your clown picture gives my 5 year-old nightmares. :) (Not that the rest of the blog doesn't either.)
Nobody likes clowns any more, what gives with that?
This is Bozo we're talking about, he invented clowns (well, at least in my delusional childhood with B&W TV)
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