Meme-Warrior Politicians and other ruminations on the current political climate

For every informed citizen caught up in the "game" there are hundreds who don't know their heads from their asses with regard to even the surface intricacies of the issues. Too many of these people shape their opinions on little more than memes like this with maybe a dose of Rush Limbaugh, Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck or Jon Stewart to help shape their viewpoints with little if any regard to the strengths of the opposing party or the weaknesses of their own. It's a game, but so few know the rules and even fewer know why those rules are put into place. People who wouldn't watch 10 minutes of C-Span but will spend two hours stroking their position with Mark Levin or Alan Colmes neither of whom seem to give a rat's ass about anything more important than discrediting the other. You put these people in a room together and you won't get a single moment of intelligent discourse. No, but you just might see an all out bar room brawl. These people have absolutely no respect for their opponents. NONE. I despise George W. Bush and believe some of his actions were not only ill advised but maybe even criminal. Yet if I were sufficiently predisposed I could probably find several things he did that were good for the American people. I would recognize those things. And I'm not defending the democrats, either, because there are just as many on the left who refuse to admit that their "enemy" could do ANYTHING right. I don't think you're going to hear Sean Hannity or Ann Coulter throw out a positive remark about the President. He may as well be the anti-Christ and God knows there are plenty meme politicians who actually think he is just that.

Never mind that he's had a few victories of his own. Conservatives won't even give Obama credit for even playing a role in bin Laden's take down. And that's such bull. The man with his finger on the button is the man with the responsiblity, which makes him the brunt of the blame or the praised victor. Come on. "Obama called the SEALS and THEY got bin Laden". Who do you think gave the order to kill Saddam Hussein? Who killed him? Nobody remembers the guys name, and that's too bad because soldiers deserve recognition, but the fact is that history will show that George W. Bush got Hussein. History will show that Barrack Obama got Osama bin Laden. History shows that because in the end they were the ones whose careers were on the line. To give the impression that Obama was not directly responsible is to feed the fires of hatred that too many armchair politicians thrive on. Which I only bring up because it's a prime example of what I'm talking about. Let's not give credit to the man who would have been crucified if the SEAL mission had failed. What a double standard.

So...and here's the crux of my point I'm probably failing to make. Politics is some deep water. It is for the few to manipulate the many. It is too deep for most people to know what they're getting into and that's why it's easy to best them with facts because they just don't know them all, and most of the ones they DO know have been twisted beyond recognition by candidates who have no use for them. One of the reasons I consider myself a liberal is because I see it as an affiliation that questions everything and wants to know WHY. That's the most important thing I want to know, because if you can't tell my WHY something is I would say WHY BOTHER THEN? I get the feeling that a lot of meme-warriors have little concern for the whys and wherefores. A lot of the time it's just like an ego stroking club. Romney is the leader of one and Obama the other. "Like" their page and get a daily boost. Keep up with all the memes in favor of your party that are floating about in wanna-be-viral land by subscribing to "I am going to vote for Presiden Obama in 2012". It IS like the Super Bowl...Pittsburg Steelers versus Podunk Junior Varsity.

It's why I hate to go into much detail about what I believe politically because at some point I'm going to get in just deep enough to be unsure and there's always some sharks armed with just enough ammunition to make me question the validity of what I have felt in my heart and tried to put in my head for most of my adult life. And sure enough when I get out of the waters and dig a little deeper I can find my own ammunition for when I want to best those pesky sharks. And I will, but it's like Dante's Inferno. It just keeps getting worse.

If I may continue with the analogy...those sharks don't know anything more than I do. But they stay where they're at and wait for the next diver. They aren't looking deeper. They're happy where they are. That's politics to me. It's way, way too complex for me to be so absolutely sure or get to the bottom of any issue. Maybe that's a weakness on my part, but I believe an election should be about weighing pros and cons, not trying to knock each other off the scales. I've given up hope that this generation will ever respect the office of the presidency itself as opposed to the man who sits in the Oval Office. Isn't that sad?

How about instead of slinging horse**** at our opponents we make better use of our time and try to educate all the people who need to be shown how to ask "why" and how to spot a lie when they hear one. Show them there's a higher path than posting negative images and stupid cartoons trying to best the other team. (I should take just a second here to admit that I have done that as well, so I understand the fascination). Teach them what they should know before they go to the ballots and if they don't want to learn we should do everything in our power to keep them FROM the ballots.

I know there's a long standing tradition of political rivalry that stretches back all the way to the founding of the country. It seems negative campaigning has been with us from the start. But do you know what? It's so stupid. It's counterproductive. Some traditions, through the passage of time, become good for nothing and no one. Those are the traditions that need to be tossed. And IMO this is one of them.