Unfettered Blather

In a way this post is where I give up. Jason has decided he wants to get away from punditry for Unfettered Blather and while I know he would never ask me to stop posting my rants here, I honestly don’t see the point to it anymore.

Someone once made a comment:

“Politics determines how we live our lives on earth, religion determines how we live our lives afterwards - I think people need to talk about it.”

There are a lot of pundit sites out there, at this point I think the fact that everyone can isolate themselves to their own blogs is a great way to make sure you never have to hear anyone but yourself, maybe you can garner a tribe of loyal followers. I have seen some where intelligent debate thrives but those are rare. I suppose forums are somewhat to blame for this, the struggle for dominance.

I like saying inflammatory things, mainly because the definition for what is inappropriate and incendiary is cast in an ever expanding net. It used to be “its not what you say, its how you say it”, this has eventually become “you can’t say that”.

Politics is the language of maturity because it involves change that effect everyone. Interest in the fundamentals of the political process seems to drop every day. I hear from an ever increasing number of people that they no longer watch the news because it is “depressing”. I can’t argue with this but I was raised with the idea that you search, read, filter and find the information to keep you informed. The news never depressed me because I was never given the expectation that life was merry sunshine. Life is tough and there are more bad people than good, but knowing that you take pride in perseverance and being informed on the truth, not opinion.

I suppose thats the final nail in this coffin, the fact that opinion and truth have become interchangeable to most people. It doesn’t matter if it is the truth, the truth is something individual, subject. Is it really the truth if it isn’t my truth?

Phillip K. Dick said “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”

To be blunt, I’m tired of talking to people who spend their time trying to find new ways to make it go away.

Am I saying I know the truth? No, I have ideas and if I test them and they don’t withstand the test, I am wrong and I will never fail to admit it. Adhering blindly to anything in my view is dangerous but if you do believe it you need to be educated on the subject and able to explain it. Thats too much effort for most.

Nobody really wants to have a dialogue, politics has effectively become a split-level debate. People want to sound off on soapboxes, podiums where they can gush soundbites and unsupportable statistics. The other option is to button up and say nothing when the issue comes up for fear of an argument related to option one. This has given way to a form of extremely passive aggressive behavior where we toast our glasses, smile at how wrong the person is and ignore the debate.

I’m not trying to be smug, I’ve tried to be open and to carry on point, counterpoint conversations. The simple fact is I don’t like talking to people and having them pretend I’m not there.

Finally most people simply button-up when you try to broach the subject or make a comment. People are fearful of the very events and beliefs that will shape their lives. I’d rather make an enemy than a false friend. Do I judge people on politics? Certainly not in most cases, but I much rather feel I can be respected and share my beliefs and ideas with people instead of finding friendship and acquaintances that will remain as such as long as I don’t breach a list of taboos.

That being said I don’t feel I can contribute anything to the debate anymore. I won’t talk on forums, I’ve been that route for a firm decade. I’ve owned, ran and managed several more.

My new focus when the mood strikes me will be gaming articles and mainstream entertainment. My hobby certainly doesn’t fall in that category but recently I’ve approached a good friend about contributing to a national publication and they seemed very enthusiastic about my desire to write. Expect more news on this front!

Finally, now that I have made my triumphant return to gaming (with little or no fanfare - perhaps you haven’t heard!) I intend to focus heavily on game reviews and comparative efforts with Jason

Looking forward to 2009!!

Detailed Story on the Mumbai Attacks

I tried really hard to enjoy myself over the holiday, but the attacks on Mumbai is not as easy for me to abstract as just more conflict on some other part of the world. I am very fond of India and very fond of the Indian people. I have worked with many of them extensively over the past decade and even visited the country. They are, in my opinion, a trade partner we should be pursuing much more than China or Japan.

While we were enjoying our holiday and preparing for the next, over 150 people were killed while just 10 men spread terror throughout the city. India is no stranger to terrorist attacks, but the brutality and fear these handful of men were able to spread was great enough to make the international news.

Of course, this is causing some introspection inside their country. My heart goes out to them and my prayers with them.

Dave Barry says something I’ve been thinking

You know what I miss? I miss 1960. Not the part about my face turning overnight into the world’s most productive zit farm. What I miss is the way the grown-ups acted about the Kennedy-Nixon race. Like the McCain-Obama race, that was a big historic deal that aroused strong feelings in the voters. This included my parents and their friends, who were fairly evenly divided, and very passionate. They’d have these major honking arguments at their cocktail parties. But unlike today, when people wear out their upper lips sneering at those who disagree with them, the 1960s grown-ups of my memory, whoever they voted for, continued to respect each other and remain good friends.

What was their secret? Gin. On any given Saturday night they consumed enough martinis to fuel an assault helicopter. But also they were capable of understanding a concept that we seem to have lost, which is that people who disagree with you politically are not necessarily evil or stupid. My parents and their friends took it for granted that most people were fundamentally decent and wanted the best for the country. So they argued by sincerely (if loudly) trying to persuade each other. They did not argue by calling each other names, which is pointless and childish, and which constitutes I would estimate 97 percent of what passes for political debate today.

Granted, I wasn’t even born in 1960, but I agree with his sentiment. I don’t know when we got to the idea that “the other side” is essentially wrong and we no longer have room for different points of view. That doesn’t sound like the America I grew up in. I think today’s political climate is best summed up as

Republicans think Democrats are stupid.
Democrats think Republicans are evil.

I know there have always been extremes, but I don’t remember this always being the norm. Way back in the 80’s I remember my friends and I getting into it but I think we all understood that we simply saw the world in different ways. In my lifetime I have been a pretty hardcore liberal and a fairly extreme conservative. At some point I realized that I don’t have a strong platform. I’m not really “moderate” but I can swing pretty hard in either direction depending on the issue. I don’t believe my worldview has to be formed around a political philosophy and I don’t think the average person really does either.

Unfortunately, the Internet hasn’t helped. Instead we see the formation of one echo chamber after another, where people can toss aside civility and spew whatever vitriol takes their fancy. This isn’t healthy and doesn’t help the country. We’re learning to foster resentment for people who think differently than us.

I don’t have a very charitable view of humanity, but I think most people at least have good intentions even if they may not always behave in a manner I would consider wise. It seems a lot of people forget that they share a lot of common ground with the same people they disagree so much with. We don’t look for common ground and compromise anymore, and I think we’re paying the price. Everything seems to be based in some kind of partisan agenda. Instead of looking at root causes and finding solutions to problems we just blame “the other guy”. That may be convenient, but it’s hardly the road to progress.

I voted for McCain yesterday. There is an important difference between voting FOR McCain and voting AGAINST Obama. Some people would argue they are one and the same but my intentions this election was to choose the person I felt was best for this country, disagree with me all you want, where in past elections I felt like I was hoping to block someone from office. I didn’t vote straight Republican, I haven’t done that since I was a Republican. I did choke down my bile and cast my vote for one incumbent I’m not particularly happy with but his opposition was probably worse (Hello 2004!!!). Yup, voted Libretarian where I could just because I really want to see the system shook up. Who knows, maybe they or some other third-party can actually break into the political monopoly. (bipoly?)

I was thankful for two things this election.

First, it was over quickly. That was a relief especially after all the talk about how close it was going to be and how volatile the polls were. Once again, the Ramsussen poll correctly guessed the presidency. I noticed they nailed the margin in 2004. I haven’t research back, but they are two for two so far.

Second, last night’s election reaffirmed my choice in the primary. I voted in the Democratic Primary because there was no point in voting in the Republican Primary. I happily voted for Obama because even though I supported McCain I wanted to make sure his opponent would be the best possible second choice. I know a lot of people are despairing over Obama but I am personally not that worried. Yes, I am entirely aware of his past associations, questionable donors, etc. etc. He’s been elected and now he gets a chance to prove himself. The simple fact is, while I did not vote for him, Barack Hussein Obama is now my president, head of the Executive Branch, and effectively the leader of this country. Well, he will be early next year anyway. I do understand political timelines as well. My hope for him is the same hope for any president and he will get my prayers and support. I do not wish failure on our president because their failure affects us as a country.

Sadly, the numbers are in and voter turnout appears to be roughly 3 million less than 2004 according to some reports I’ve read. I haven’t had time to research this myself but I hope this isn’t true. Every election has been disappointing for me because of how many people choose not to participate in the process. While I was happy the election was over in one day I was disappointed by the turnout.

We are in the midst of another election cycle and with it we are inundated with campaigns to bring those that normally wouldn’t vote in to the fold. This included everything from motivational commercials and celebrity appearences right down to voting scams run by the likes of Acorn.

I think voting is one of the most important fuctions a citizen can perform. It is a responsibility and what these ad campaigns fail to convey is that you have to be educated about the process, your ethics, beliefs and how they pretain to the issues.

Let me make a particular point on the “undecided voter” buzzword.

If you’re undecided, you’re an idiot.

Look, I’ve tried to be pleasant and understanding in my views of undecided voters but at this point in my life, especially with the two party system, we have a very distinct divide between most candidates. If you have even a small list of moral or ethical values you adhere to, with a modicum of reading you can establish a decision in fairly short order.

Some could argue the two party system is a detriment, my only interest in it for this argument is that it makes your voting choice remarkably easy. The bulk of the important issues the candidates almost always disagree on. Spare me the schlock where you need to “Wait and see”. For what exactly? You don’t know by election day? That to me is unsettling.

If you tell me you haven’t decided a week before the election then odds are I’m going to shake my head. Its like people saying they have done no studying before the big test and think that it is perfectly okay.

This may sound cynical but if you pay any attention to politics (unless you are one of those “I don’t talk politics or religion” dimwits) then you have a thin if reasonable clue as to what the fundamentals are. If you are waiting to view their family habits or read these stupid human interest stories about their home life and dog then you aren’t making a political decision. This isn’t a popularity contest where the guy with the nicest smile and talks the best wins.

I have been involved with politics for most of my life, even as a kid. Most people find it a pain in the ass, but thats life. It has been the same for a long time with the media only making it spectacle and biased but the issue is simple. Its not always fun. Then again neither is driving to work in traffic or paying the bills. The difference is, some rightfully see it as their job, their duty to wade through the waist deep sea of spin and bullcrap to make a decision for their country. To demand change. People who are apathetic make this more difficult, even worse are those that pull the lever blindly.

Finally I’m sick of this crap about the underprivileged being “left behind”. Want to vote? It is not difficult to make that happen. We have a very fair and easily accessible voting system and the attached drama over people being excluded is often spouted by people who really think this country is unfair to the poor across the board. It simply isn’t true.

If you want to vote, you will vote, if you are too lazy or don’t care then you won’t and thats exactly how it’s supposed to work. I’m all for helping up those that want a helping hand, but if you have to beat them over the head about it’s importance, gather them like cattle and bus them down there then frankly I don’t want them voting regardless of income. There has to be personal initiative in voting. If Democratic or Republican supporters are trying to bus people to the polls and influencing them as best they can, then they want vote punchers and respect is not attached to that label.

We dither about having everyone’s voices are heard. Frankly I want a fair number of them to shut-up and go home so I can hear the voices of the people they are drowning out. The people who have something to say because they care about the system.

Voting is for the educated. That is the responsibility of the voter, to be educated. If you refuse to accept this then do not vote. Do everyone else the favor. Educating yourself and making a real, honest decision with a personal desire to see your country succeed is a requirement.

I listen to people complain about politics. Frankly the status quo is our fault. The politicians know there is a harvest of people out there that will vote based on nothing more than window dressing.We take voting for granted and it is being abused by the parties to win through media circus, bias and infomercials. This is a testament to the problem with the voting public, not politics. I may think being an undecided voter makes you a bit thick or complaicent, but thats nothing compared to what the candidates see you as.