It's taken me quite a while to recover, even partially, from the shock of the events in Florida during the 2000 election. I did not think that plutocrats would be allowed to buy the Presidency of this country- boy, was I wrong. As shocked as I was at the naked fascistic greed of the Bush campaign, I was even more perturbed by the willful passivity of Gore's people, that they did not vigorously pursue the matter. And the ruling of the Supreme Court, giving their imprimatur to the charade, was beyond belief.
But I have recovered. Despite his (sometimes infuriating!) methodical pace, I remain positive about President Obama's level of engagement. I'm not one of those progressives that bemoan his constant striving for bipartisanship; after all, he's gotta serve the whole country, not just liberals and lefties. I'm not particularly disturbed that we're still in Afghanistan and Iraq; I knew from the instant we went in there that realpolitik required a stay of at least ten years, probably more (Kucinich notwithstanding). Obama is the exact opposite of impulsive. Everything he does is carefully considered to the nth degree. Despite this glacial pace on resolving issues, his election has largely restored my faith in the political system; the republic still stands, so that the work of undoing the fascistic greed of the Bush years can continue.
All of which has allowed me to reformulate my philosophy of government. I'm a humanist, and an agnostic. My inherent humanism will forever bar me from being a conservative- I can never have the contempt for others that conservativism requires. My agnosticism- in the sense that Robert Anton Wilson espoused- similarly determines my relation to the political, in that I can never be comfortable with demagoguery.
That's why I'm finally able to articulate my disgust with Sarah Palin. Never have I seen a more cynically stupid remark than her recent quip: "How's that hopey-changey thing workin' out for ya?". It's working out quite well, as it happens....Obama continues to be an inspiration to me. Palin doesn't even know what she doesn't know.
