Buzz Paths

Prior to the 2000 Republican Primary and also prior to W’s announcement to even run in that primary, the vile and unnatural hatred toward him had already begun. I remember thinking “MAN!!, this guy hasn’t even done anything yet to deserve this type of hatred …they must really be scared that he will win!”. They were, and he did.

This hatred has continually crescendoed throughout his presidency. Granted, W’s presidency has not been a stellar one, but for all of his lacking, he has stood up for America through many very difficult events while keeping us safe in the very dangerous post 9/11 world with no successful domestic terror attacks.

His presidency has also had to deal with more than any other in our short history with inheriting an economic recession, 9/11, Anthrax scares, Katrina, two simultaneous wars, Ike, and most recently the Fanny Mae meltdown …any one of which would have been enough to define almost any other presidency by itself.

Where as with any presidency, there are many things that people could disagree with that have happened throughout W’s reign, however, in this case it got personal. Vile hatred for not much of a reason other than hatred itself. Hatred for hatred’s sake. It is almost as if W personally ran over the haters dog or something. It is emotionally driven, unexplainable, irrational hatred. Not a pretty picture.

This type of hatred can only be explained in one of two ways:

· Because of specific deeds that he did (ala Hitler, etc.)
· Irrational and exuberant ignorance by the haters

It cannot by definition be due to deeds done… because the hate started prior to even being able to do such deeds. So, ignorance once again seems to win out in this media driven political popularity contest.

As we see a new administration preparing to start their first term, we are also seeing some equally strange attitudes surfacing as well. Before Barack Obama announced his candidacy (only 143 days after becoming a U.S. Senator) to run in the Democratic primaries, he already had an almost cult like following of people that professed a love for his candidacy that was unfounded by any real tangible reasons. He gave a good speech at the last Democratic convention. That’s good, but cannot (or at least should not) explain the overnight intense following.

This type of adoration can only be explained in one of two ways:

· Because of specific deeds that he did (ala Gandhi, Christ, etc.)
· Irrational and exuberant ignorance by adoring fans.

It cannot by definition be due to deeds done… because the adoration started prior to even taking the oath of office and even having the opportunity to do such deeds. So, ignorance once again seems to win out in this media driven political popularity contest.

Even before he has been inaugurated, people have started talking about making Nov. 4 a national holiday in honor of Barack Obama etc. I scratch my head wondering just how this kind of baseless enthusiasm seems to have a life of it’s own without any real merit.

Barack Obama just might become a great president and just might go down in history as more than just our first black president (actually half black), but so far, that’s all of the historical relevance that he has actually earned by his accomplishments. His presidential legacy still has yet to be written or even started. Until he is president and starts doing deeds as president, there is no way that anyone can know if he will actually be a great or even mediocre president. For that, we must wait and see.

Every politician lies. Every politician promises things they have no intension of doing if elected. If they do not lie, they do not get elected (thank you media spin artists). Our job as a citizen is to be well informed, intelligent voters that have done enough research to cut through the media spin and political hype that is the election cycle. After doing our individual due diligence, we should individually (not getting caught up in the herd mentality) come to a conclusion or opinion concerning the important issues in the campaign, and vote accordingly.

Saying this, everyone in the U.S. DOES (at least so far) have the right to their own opinion and also the right to express it. So as strange and negative as this bitter attitude is, we should not keep it from happening. There are still no laws against stupidity. This is what makes stupidity dangerous. A stupid uniformed or misinformed (propagandized) voter carries just as much weight in our free society as a well informed intelligent voter. When the media and candidates can get people to sway from facts and get caught up into emotional driven voting, the entire process becomes ineffective. People who really haven’t bothered to get informed now are emotionally (only) driven to vote. Once the uninformed voters can be motivated to vote based upon non-specific and non-policy based agendas that are emotionally driven (change …what change? I dunno, just change. Change for change sake only etc.), the inmates will start running the asylum.

History (that is based upon facts and not conjecture) will reflect the success of this presidency based upon deeds and accomplishments, not speeches, popularity, style, race, or any other irrelevant aspects. In fact, because Barack is black, this presidency will hopefully help our country to get past much of the racial divide that has infected this country for much too long. We need to accept him as OUR president (because he is) and give him the help that he needs to realize his vision for our country. If the American people decide after 4 years that this is not the direction we should be heading, we have the opportunity and duty to fire him and elect someone that we think does support the people’s vision.

Voting for change is really only voting against the incumbent, not really voting for anyone. This is not why we should vote. Voting should be FOR something specific based upon principles not party or popularity.

What is very alarming and unsettling is that because of this polarizing process, the usually hopeful and optimistic outlook of the average American citizen has now been polarized and pushed to unnatural limits for no good reason in my opinion. This is a huge shift in the attitude pendulum in America. As a pendulum shifts, so will it correct …with equal force and in the opposite direction.
This pendulum shift has way less to do with the men involved and way more to do with the fickle and flighty nature that has developed within the American population. W did not earn the hate that was bestowed upon him by deeds. How could he? It started before he even announced to run in the first place. Barack Obama has not earned the love that has been bestowed upon him either. He isn’t even the president yet.

So now we have to just wait and see. This is not to say we should be blind and all trusting. This does not say that we should be angry and aggressively negative either. We should stay well informed, have a positive attitude knowing that we live in the greatest country in the history of the free world and have the most opportunities within our free society to change and tweak our own destiny. Get involved. Communicate with your congressmen and senators. Doing nothing or making ignorant uninformed choices and then complaining about the outcome is stupid. Don’t be stupid!

Stumble it!