Sorry for the off-topic post, but it’s a must.
I just finished watching the CNN/Youtube Republican Debate and I’d like to make a few observations.
Let me get this one out of the way first. One of the Youtube questioners asked, while holding a Bible for the camera, “do you believe every word in this book?” Giuliani responded with the safe answer that he does believe it but that some of it has to be understood as metaphor and cannot be taken as the literal word of God and so avoided the damaging effect that a fundamentalist stance would have on his, or anyone’s, credibility as a rational human being, let alone a candidate for President.
Romney, however, took a different approach. He tried to take both positions. He first stated that he certainly believes the bible as the word of God. By saying this, while not saying so explicitly, he implicated that he believes the bible to be literally true. However, when pressed further by the moderator, he stammered for a bit, then backed off by saying that while he believes every word to be the word of God, some of it is surely meant to be interpreted as allegory.
Without getting too far off topic, I’d like to make the obvious, if beaten to death, point that if this is the case, how is it decided which parts are to be taken literally and which are to be taken metaphorically? Should I literally smite the inhabitants of a city of unbelievers? And if not, how does one interpret that metaphorically?
Politicians pandering aside, the more important point to be made is that it never occurred to either one of them that the only appropriate response to such a question is that a candidate’s religion HAS NO RELEVANCE IN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE!!
I think this is appropriate:
Second, I’d like to address the failure of democracy in this country that is so blatantly obvious that no one seems to want to acknowledge it. Any two year old watching this debate, or any other presidential debate, could tell you that what we have here is a media spectacle that exploits the general public’s propensity for favoring entertainment over substance. Is it any surprise that the frontrunners got center stage and were given the majority of the two hours? You can check my numbers on this, but it is not a gross overstatement that Giuliani and Romney spent more time quibbling back and forth over the very first question of illegal immigration than Ron Paul was given the entire time.
Call me crazy, but if it is going to be scewed, face time should be inversely related to poll figures. How can we possibly have a democracy if the opposite is true.
If you doubt the media bias, I refer you to the following clip from an earlier debate. Listen for Sean Hannity in the background saying that Fox’s own poll is driving him crazy because the results indicate overwhelming support for Ron Paul.
Of course the poll in question was not scientific and was probably flooded with Paul supporters. But the media is constantly trivializing Paul, suggesting he has no chance of winning. Well of course he has no chance if all anyone hears about him is a dismissive/insulting remark made in passing by Sean Hannity.
Hilariously, the media has had to start taking Paul seriously after he raised 4.3 million dollars on November 5 of this year, setting a one-day GOP fundraising record. That's hardly indicitive of someone who has no chance of winning the nomination.
Listen. What I’m getting at is that now is the time to make a conscious decision to become interested in politics and it has never been so important as it is now. We are on the verge of something big, and we all have a vested interest in the outcome. Our generation could see the fall of the most powerful nation in the world. We have been witnesses to and accomplices of the most egregious acts of aggression abroad and have allowed the most potentially irreversible losses of freedom and liberty at home in the history of the United States.
If you’re interested in Liberty and freedom, you’re not going to find it in a CNN debate. Do your 2008 Election research on the internet. I’ll get you started with a couple clips of two candidates that I feel strongly about. I don’t agree with either one of them on every issue, but in the words of Elizabeth Kucinich, they are both “truth tellers.” And from what I can gather so far, they are the only “truth tellers” running.
Democrat: Dennis Kucinich
Republican: Ron Paul
And finally, since this is a music blog, I’ll bring it all together with the appropriately titled:
Arcade Fire – Wake Up
Buy it from emusic.com or Amazon.com
/end rant
At age 16, in a musty record store attic, I purchased my first vinyl copy of This Years Model for $2. I had never heard a note of Elvis Costello's music, but I recognized his name, checked the copyright date (1978!) and was instantly attracted to the geeky but cool aesthetic of the cover photo. My turntable at the time, a pathetically cheap hand-me-down, was unable to play at a volume much above a whisper. Yet, with my ear pressed to the speaker, in Costello's frantic energy and lover's scorn I recognized a kindred spirit. He wasn't so much angry as pissed off and reflective.
