I lamented to R today that this election, with all of the hype on hope, was exhausting.
He responded:
well, it’s supposed to be tiring… hope takes work. if the election were
a foregone conclusion, then instead of hope there’d just be expectation.
that doesn’t require any effort at all. 🙂
I hadn’t thought about it like that…but he’s right. And the work part explains why so many folks had given up on the idea of hope. So much work with no assurance it won’t be for naught. Hope is a scary thing.
At work we got into a mini banter about politics and this election. A younger colleague – very much a supporter of obama – chimed in that if he loses she will never hope in anything as much again. And while part of me wanted to be as removed from disappointment as she is – I can see very clearly a world that would elect mccain/palin despite every piece of evidence that mounts an argument against either of their abilities to lead this nation anywhere except on our continued express route to hell.
For palin, it isn’t about her children. Although I don’t think she is qualified I do believe all the banter about her motherly “duties” are sexist. She has a husband – and if he is lacking I’m sure she can afford daycare on her vice presidential salary (no one is asking obama about his kids). But even with that off the table there is plenty that makes her a bad choice.
She’s so pro-life that the mother’s life ceases to be of any importance. She is for off shore drilling as the final solution and not as a stopgap. She has an ethics charge (abuse of power) pending against her (with some skeletons in her closet regarding a similar abuse of power when she was mayor). And when asked – on camera about being vice president – she responded that she’d be happy to take the job if someone could explain what it is they do.
As for mccain. He picked her. All other things aside…his inability to distinguish Shiite from Sunni. His self proclaimed ignorance on the economy (combined with his notion of middle class – which illustrated how removed he is from reality). And his desire to keep the war going as long as it can possibly drag itself out…all of those things scream decisions I can’t get on board with.
Add to them sarah palin. His first major decision in the spotlight and he didn’t even bother to vet his vice president properly (even with a 6 month head start). If nothing else that speaks volumes that I hope America is paying attention to.
The thing is…I’m not sure America is listening. And that is why I won’t be surprised if this election doesn’t turn out like I think it should. All my audacious hard work of hoping may come to some ridiculous end…but that’s no reason not to hope anyway. After all…it can’t be done if we don’t try…if we don’t weigh our “practicality” that it can’t against our hope that it can…
Tags: politics, socialcommentary
hope palin and reality
I lamented to R today that this election, with all of the hype on hope, was exhausting.
He responded:
well, it’s supposed to be tiring… hope takes work. if the election were
a foregone conclusion, then instead of hope there’d just be expectation.
that doesn’t require any effort at all. 🙂
I hadn’t thought about it like that…but he’s right. And the work part explains why so many folks had given up on the idea of hope. So much work with no assurance it won’t be for naught. Hope is a scary thing.
At work we got into a mini banter about politics and this election. A younger colleague – very much a supporter of obama – chimed in that if he loses she will never hope in anything as much again. And while part of me wanted to be as removed from disappointment as she is – I can see very clearly a world that would elect mccain/palin despite every piece of evidence that mounts an argument against either of their abilities to lead this nation anywhere except on our continued express route to hell.
For palin, it isn’t about her children. Although I don’t think she is qualified I do believe all the banter about her motherly “duties” are sexist. She has a husband – and if he is lacking I’m sure she can afford daycare on her vice presidential salary (no one is asking obama about his kids). But even with that off the table there is plenty that makes her a bad choice.
She’s so pro-life that the mother’s life ceases to be of any importance. She is for off shore drilling as the final solution and not as a stopgap. She has an ethics charge (abuse of power) pending against her (with some skeletons in her closet regarding a similar abuse of power when she was mayor). And when asked – on camera about being vice president – she responded that she’d be happy to take the job if someone could explain what it is they do.
As for mccain. He picked her. All other things aside…his inability to distinguish Shiite from Sunni. His self proclaimed ignorance on the economy (combined with his notion of middle class – which illustrated how removed he is from reality). And his desire to keep the war going as long as it can possibly drag itself out…all of those things scream decisions I can’t get on board with.
Add to them sarah palin. His first major decision in the spotlight and he didn’t even bother to vet his vice president properly (even with a 6 month head start). If nothing else that speaks volumes that I hope America is paying attention to.
The thing is…I’m not sure America is listening. And that is why I won’t be surprised if this election doesn’t turn out like I think it should. All my audacious hard work of hoping may come to some ridiculous end…but that’s no reason not to hope anyway. After all…it can’t be done if we don’t try…if we don’t weigh our “practicality” that it can’t against our hope that it can…
Tags: politics, socialcommentary