From Politics to Passion

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presidential candidate: Barack Obama

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Politics is intensely complicated, and I find it a shame that the powers that be still want to propagate the idea of this false dichotomy, this “two party” system, when it is so clear that we live in a world of “varying shades of gray” (as my mom likes to say). This presidential primary is just a perfect example of that concept. We have Republicans saying they will vote for Clinton, because she is more conservative than McCain or that they don’t want McCain to make their party look bad. We have a kooky Libertarian running on the Republican ticket, when his views are so clearly opposite from many of his running mates. It’s all over the board.

The illusion of the two parties becomes clear the minute you take a political quiz with any true thought. Here I am registering Barack Obama and Rudy Guiliani as my top two candidates. Say what? But they are on different sides, right? Well if you really break it down on the many axis of political thought, it isn’t so crazy. Apparently, I am a socially-progressive pacifist who is moderate on economic and government control issues… maybe I lean a little Libertarian and a little Capitalist. If I look at where I map out, there is actually no candidate running who takes on my exact pattern, and there probably never will be, so long as the two-party system remains that is.

So, how do I choose who to support? Well, I started by prioritizing my issues. I usually put social and science issues on the forefront of my mind, but with tax time hitting us hard, the stock market down, and our need to refinance our house during a time of complete housing market bust… its really hard to ignore the economy. And this is where it gets really complicated. The most beneficial economic plans that effect me directly come from people who are so polar opposite with me on social issues that I can’t possibly vote for them. The candidates that I agree with most when it comes to social issues seem to leave people like me out of their plans altogether… I’m not wealthy, but I’m not struggling enough.

Then add into the equation that the “fair tax” proposal, one of the most interesting ideas in tax reform, is on the table of Michigan’s government and in the hands of the House and Senate in Washington. That begs the question, will the president be the catalyst of tax reform, or are there many players involved? So if economy is off the table… and if you really start to think about it, a lot of issues are determined in this complicated checks and balances system… what is left?

Inspiration, passion, direction, unification. A glorified figurehead of how we want to be perceived and where we want to go.

And I have to say… Barack Obama inspires me. I think he is a cool dude that speaks well, yes. But there is more there than that, and to anyone who doesn’t think there are plans underneath his lingo, they just haven’t dug far enough. What really pushed me far over the edge was this website that compares candidates views on science and technology, and this amazing 30 point plan from Obama (Hilary Clinton’s was a 1 point plan by comparison). I can’t believe some of the stuff in here. Making government policies available online for public comment before they are voted on, requiring representatives of government to hold online “town hall” meetings, and using social network technology to promote cross-agency communication within Washington.

This guy gets technology, and he gets why it is important and how it can change the way we live. And a guy who gets that is just more interesting to me than a boring old white dude who probably gets uncomfortable when people talk about what they twittered today.