I've been thinking about politics a lot lately. Okay, always. I like politics, but it (they?) drive me crazy and make my life miserable. I'd be a much happier person if I didn't care about Big Things, but I honestly haven't the faintest idea how anyone can NOT care about Big Things.
Specifically, my recent focus has been on a) the Republican Presidential candidates and b) the OWS Movement.
(First, let me preface anything that follows by admitting that I have actually read and/or watched very little of the "news" available out there. For instance, I can't handle watching videos of police/protestors conflicts. It would give me a more informed perspective, but I suspect it would also make me exceptionally angry and depressed and increase my feelings of futility and hopelessness. I also tend not to read every "article" I see links for that are on liberal-leaning websites. I would probably agree with them, but I'm not looking for polemical material. Which is why I don't read stuff from notably right-wing sources, either. I try to save my reading time for select items that I hope will provide intelligent insight and/or actual information. I want data, facts, numbers, and/or well-reasoned arguments that consider all aspects of the issue. And that makes up a fairly small percentage of "news" I come across.)
I don't remember what prompted this train of thought while I was at work the other day, but it occurred to me that too many people are failing to understand the gravity of the American Presidency.
The President of the United States needs to be smart: both intellectually and practically. This person needs to be confident. This person needs to have ideas for the future, but a good grasp of reality. This person needs to be able to communicate well with our own citizens as well as people in other countries. This person needs to know what the hell is going on in the world, to be able to weigh pros and cons of issues, and to be able to make sacrifices and compromises when necessary. This person needs to be capable of making short-term and long-term policy decisions based on good judgment and also needs to be able to make sound decisions quickly in the face of crises.
Quite frankly, I don't think there is a single Republican candidate capable of fulfilling all those requirements. The U.S. President should not just be the most prominent talking head spewing the rhetoric of one political party's machine. S/He should definitely not have gained office by being the biggest windbag who complains the loudest and slings the most mud. Having adamant ideological opinions doesn't make you qualified. Having the strongest opinions on policy issues is not all it takes to make you World Leader material. In fact, I think having excessively strong opinions with no ability or desire to listen to the other side makes a candidate for any political office dangerous in addition to being useless.
...........
While the Republican candidates just annoy me with their almost complete lack of any redeeming qualities, the Occupy Wall Street movement is more fraught with difficulties for me because it calls into question my own redeeming qualities. It highlights the rifts I already struggle with between what I have and what I want, between how I live and what I believe. In my mind I cheer the struggles of those who are rallying together and risking their safety to make a statement that America needs another revolution. But I still get up every day, feeling like tired crap, then churn through gasoline and fight with traffic to go to a corporate job at a company I don't respect so I can spend more money than I earn on things that make my life either easier or more pleasant. I am eating up the Earth in an attempt to enjoy life, and it isn't working.
But how realistic are my other choices at this point? I'm already hopelessly entwined in the consumer system, with $60k of student loan debt, lots of credit card debt, and an upside-down mortgage thanks to the revaluation of our house last year that dropped it's value by something like 30% in just 2 years. If I were to quit work to have the time and energy to use my life for a better purpose, the effect on our finances and credit ratings would be catastrophic, and I would be miserable. (I have a whole separate post in the works regarding poverty, money, etc.)
I am where I am for a lot of reasons, and there are a lot of people who envy where I am. I've had a lot of advantages and luck in my life that enabled me to make the decisions I made. I know this. I also realize there are decisions I could make that would bring me into better alignment with what I believe without destroying my life. I can take small steps, make gradual changes. But I'm 1000 times better at planning than doing, and I never seem to simultaneously have both the time and the energy to work on figuring out what to do, let alone setting any plans in motion.
So, the Occupy Movement has a) increased my ability to see and appreciate my blessings and my privileges, and b) made me realize that getting other people closer to where I am is more important than me getting closer to the 1%. Just because any reforms, changes, and improvements might not directly benefit me personally doesn't mean they aren't worthwhile. What makes them worthwhile is their effectiveness in improving the lives of people who have less than me. Which is a lot of people. A lot.
At its simplest, the Occupy Movement makes me feel guilty that I'm not living my own principles while at the same time giving me hope that maybe enough people have finally been pushed too far and aren't going to back down until our country makes some serious changes in it's attitude and resulting government policies. Hopefully in the near future both me and my country will be on a road to a better way of living.
