| on 2004 elections |
[Nov. 7th, 2004|10:35 pm] |
"Good thinking is slow thinking" - Henrikh Altshuller.
In the world of a religious man there's God and there's evil, and one must never hesitate to act against the latter. Exit polls and personal discussions with a good number of "values" voters show that Bush was able to mobilize his base to fight three main evils:
1. External - evil muslim terrorists.
2. Internal moral - evil sodomites, abortionists, and etc.
3. Internal government bureaucracy - the evil tax man, who takes people's money and a) wastes it; b) spends it on supporting moral evil (p.2)
On all these counts John Kerry was always guilty of hesitation, if not outright support of evil causes. On the other hand, Bush spoke their language (evil terrorists, evil dictator (Saddam), immoral behavior, and etc.), and presented himself as a religious crusader, who sometimes makes honest mistakes.
In the world of a humanist there's human reason and there's human error.
From this perspective Bush committed a number of blunders: from a misguided( based on faulty intelligence) war in Iraq to a poorly conceived economic (trickle-down) policy that resulted in record budget deficits for years to come. In 2004 elections the president's self-righteous folly got rewarded, mostly because the effects of his errors didn't reach the pain threshold for the majority of population (thank you, Mr. Greenspan).
Given the current layout of the Congress and the Supreme Court one can say that for the next four years the separation of powers in the United States is not going to work. Personally, I don't see any reason for Bush to reach out to 51+ million citizens who voted against him. Of course there's a small chance that the balance is going to be restored by the Democrats winning the next Congressional elections, but I would not bet on it.
So, Think Globally, Act Locally.
We can always help people around us by volunteering, e.g. at a soup kitchen, or a local library. Reason is spread by education. The administration's blunders need to be exposed and explained. The discussion has to be transformed from ideological "good vs evil" into most practical terms of human costs. Otherwise, while we are fighting another expensive ideological war, the Chinese will continue building up their economy. Speaking of which, what can we expect in economic terms?
a) Inflation, esp. in dollar terms ( Commodities and export-oriented business should benefit); rising interest rates (refinance now, if you have not done it already).
b) Increased military spending (Job and investment opportunities).
c) Cuts in social programs ( Just hope you don't get sick or lose your job).
d) Social Security reform (Might fuel the stock market).
This is it for now. See you in a week or so.
P.S. What is the difference between a loser and a person who lost? Very simple: the loser will never try again. |
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