MT's "Recently Updated" sidebar is a crap shoot. This time, literally.

I would be happy under the most conservative of presidencies. I would be equally happy under the most liberal of presidencies. As I would enjoy something in the nice, creamy middle. Why? Because no matter how conservative or liberal our government swings, my life will always be infinitely more blessed than a starving child in a developing country. My life here in the US will *never* get that bad. So for me to complain about this act or that policy decision . . . well, that would just make me feel foolish.

So I ignore national politics. I get involved where I can make a difference -- with my family, my friends, my workplace, my local community. I let the DC bozos sort themselves out.

Besides: democrats, republicans . . . they're all under the sway of special interests, and they all bring a big barrelload of wasteful pork back to their constituents. There is no lesser of these evils -- just different colors of the same vomitous tripe.

But hey -- that's just my opinion.

In the 1930s, the Germans didn't care who ran their government, either. The politicians were all the same. They focused on their own lives, and when the killing started, they were unable or unwilling to speak up.

It's true -- your life in the US is unlikely to be worse than that of a child in a developing country. That's because the US, through overt and covert actions and policies, ensures that devolp*ing* countries don't become develop*ed* countries. The US has a long history on nearly every continent of proping up business friendly tyrants and undermining people friendly representative democracies. The current Bush administration has continued this tradition without shame.

Citizen apathy toward national politics helps allow this to happen.

Your statement that the democrats and republicans are all under the sway of special interests is right on the mark. Rather than let justified frustration drive you away from involvement, let it drive you toward an issue that you can take an active interest in. Perhaps campaign finance reform and term limits are issues that you can light your political fire. Both of these topics deal with ensuring everyone is represented, not just those few who can afford special interest lobbies.

Stay informed, get involved, care.

Looks like the salient points of rebuttal have been covered here, but I will note that this site appears on Movable Type’s "Recently Updated" sidebar as "525 Reasons to Dump Bush". If that’s a crap shoot, it’s shooting crap in a barrel.

September 11, 2001!