i haven't been terribly hopeful for a peaceful world anytime soon. the winds of change are often harbingers of hope- but i am not feeling it. there was a time when i really thought that americans could fight against the tide of corruption washing over our nation but that was the election of 2006 and it seems, with the exception of rep. kucinich and rep. wexler and the small band that is with them, that the very people who ran on tickets of changing government- haven't. then, barack obama decided to run for president. taking the stage at the 2004 democratic convention, obama blew me- and countless others away. and i felt the stirrings of hope that john kerry ( a good man) could not stir. since that time, america's constitution has been stolen and shredded and with the bill of rights all but gone, people began looking for someone, anyone to hold the guilty accountable. but time and again, our leaders have refused to lead.since i registered to vote, i have always been a registered democrat. for me, the democratic party represented fighting for the poor and vulnerable and fighting for the equality of all human beings- 'all men are created equal.' recently, i changed my voter registration to undeclared. i no longer believe that we have a two party system or a system of checks and balances in this country. we are no longer a country 'for the people, by the people' and we no longer have the will to be so. i can no longer participate in a system that will never be changed and is so horribly corrupt. i haven't spoken much about the presidential election since dennis k. dropped out because i felt that the only person 'man enough' for the job- was no longer running. and people started lining up behind clinton or obama. and they started ripping into each other. and it was and still is- blind stupidity.
i have been critical of hillary clinton because 1) she is the senator from new york- my home 2) she represents my gender 3) she is a highly motivated and intelligent person who helped raise a fine daughter in spite of her professional life and 4) she rose above the garbage thrown at her while bill was in office. all of that changed when her campaign started the racist crap and used misogyny as an excuse. it made me angry. because she played politics as usual and obama was running a different campaign- and she didn't get that. and she lost.
and now, i am not angry, just sad. sad that the death knell of the american democratic republic has turned into a funeral march. many folks looked to obama as someone who would lead america back towards democracy- but there is no democracy in politics. survival of the richest and fittest- and obama and the congress caved yet again to corporate interests. i mean, you can't bite the hand that feeds you, right?
