Pre-Election Blues #32

Skeptical is one word to describe my attitude. Change is the word that everyone seems to be talking about. I'm not buying it. The United States is locked in an election battle and it looks like its going to be more of the old trench warfare. In the last two elections the nation has been split down the middle. Its basically a fifty-fifty situation. That gives me the feeling that change isn't going to be very possible. One reason is comfort. The middle class is quite comfortable. As long as they aren't terminally ill, they enjoy a consumer lifestyle with few consequences. Sure they have to have a job to get healthcare and they end up paying a substantial amount for this. Most families have two cars and drive everywhere they go. Obesity is growing like a tumor and there doesn't seem to be any chemo therapy that can cure this phenomenon which is a combination of a stressful lifestyle (imagine rush hour), bad eating habits, as well as a general distaste for sweating (remember everywhere you go you have air conditioning). Comfort is the key word. This is where the voting comes in. Americans are going to vote in the way that keeps the comfort most attainable.

Another way to look at it is the fortress mentality that is growing in the United States suburbs. Everyone builds their castle and when its complete, they don't need to go out and see the world. With internet and cable tv widely available, the world comes to them. The war in Iraq is something that only exists at the touch of a remote, as all American wars have been in the last century (though some were closer to the radio). Gruesome pictures and reality are airbrushed so that it looks like a UN peacekeeping operation in Sweden. No one really knows why the war was started any more. From the beginning it was argued that something had to be done and that consequences would stem from doing nothing. War is the easiest thing for a country with a military the size of the United States's. Hell according to some its even good for the economy. Who's next? There is no denying that 9/11 was a horrible and despicable act. However U.S. military intervention around the world is an equally horrible and despicable act.

So when the candidates are on tv asking for votes they promise more comfort. More prosperity because that leads to happiness and satisfaction. Change is just another step towards comfort. No one really wants or is able to make big changes. Business is good so why move the ship in another heading? Until the ship is leaking it doesn't need to be renovated. Until its sinking there will be no rescue attempt.