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Does it really matter?

I was talking with a friend of mine after writing my last blog post.  We talked about the presidential race, the current economic crisis, and the banks in Iceland, among a smattering of other popular topics of current interest.  My friend, when presented with a verbal painting of potentially impending doom, responded “Does it really matter?”  I think this speaks truthfully to the apathy partially responsible for our current plight.

Presidents come and go.  Political and economic policy sails in and out and the majority of people are none the wiser.  “Yeah, that was a bad policy or a bad time, but we’ll come through it, everything will be ok.”  Now I’m not proferring that the end of the world is currently rolling up our driveways, but I have to take a stance of “Yes, it does fucking matter!  It affects billions of people on a daily basis.”  It makes me wonder if the last twenty years have been altogether too shielded from harm.  We’ve never truly seen consequences for our actions or for our apathy.

Most people look at global warming with an “oh yeah, is that still going on?” sort of attitude.  The economic crisis is “scary” and everyone “knows someone” who is having problems with their mortgage payments or retirement plans.  However, the overarching response I seem to get from people on these topics is a look of general boredom and an expression similar to the vocalized phrase of my friend: “Does it really matter?”

Well, to the people in Iceland right now: it matters.

To the people in California leaving everything in their homes for a “trash out” team to throw into a dumpster: it matters.

More subtly, for all of us who might suffer under another ignorant and uneducated administration: it matters.

I am sick to death with the apathy, opinions of entitlement, and complete lack of self-responsibility that I have observed over the last decade.  The world does not revolve on a wheel made of gold.  Sooner or later, no matter how many government bailouts and social blinders we employ, the consequences of our apathy and greed are going to affect us all.  The worst part of it all is that most people agree on a foolproof method for determining when it matters:

as soon as it starts affecting you.

McCain + Palin = Epic FAIL

I’ve been on the fence about the upcoming presidential race and have until now held off posting about politics on my blog.  Not because I don’t have political views or an interest in the political process nor is it from fear of expressing my opinion.  Until now, I have stayed out of posting about this political process simply because it has taken me a couple of months to become informed enough about the candidates to have an opinion.  I didn’t know enough about Obama, Biden, McCain, or Palin.  So I have spent the last two months researching, reading, watching, listening, and thinking.

It is hard to get to the truth in the political process.  The candidates are masters of presentation, conversation, and in many ways of deception.  Words are prepared, researched, and twisted to paint particular points in a favorable or unfavorable light as is desired at the time.  In other words, the trust is abstracted and twisted such that the discussion at hand is less about fact and opinion, and more about eloquence and spin.  I entered my campaign of research expecting that it would be difficult to really weigh in on a preference because my own views often fall squarely in between those of others, and I find there are both many Republic and Democratic traits and views that I support or disagree with.  What I was surprised to find was that one of the presidential offerings was so way off base, so incompetent for the position as to make the “choice” between them moot.  This is simply about escorting the limp horse off the track to prevent it from causing injury either to itself or to those around it.

I have decided that the McCain/Palin ticket is an epic FAIL.  I’m not saying I’m 100% behind Obama or the democrats.  I’m something of a Demolican Republicrat because I find plusses and minuses on both sides.  However, where Obama represents a mixture of good and bad, the McCain/Palin ticket is simply horrifying.

They both demonstrate a level of incompetence and ignorance that fills me with fear.  I wouldn’t trust them as far as to park my car let alone run a country.  I share two of the latest in a long list of items that truly make me hold my head in my hands and wonder how these people even received a nomination.

http://crooksandliars.com/2008/09/11/john-mccain-stumbles-badly-after-being-asked-if-palin-has-national-security-experience-energy/

http://blog.indecision2008.com/2008/10/10/energy-specialist-sarah-palin-believes-congress-bans-oil-exports/

Think about it.  This is truly frightening.  My name is Stuart Thompson, I’m a Software Architect and I spend about 10 hours a week reading current affairs publications and other news sources because I’m interested in the world around me.  I spend about another 10 hours a week (in addition to the 50 I work) focusing on technical learning and growth because that is the field that pays my bills; it is my specialization.  My full time job and personal life fill the remainder of the time.

If I was paid to spend my time working directly in current affairs and the political destiny of our nation, I would be considerably more informed upon these issues.  Why then, dear reader, is a dank looking hatchery chicken nicknamed Chloe who has spent the majority of its existence laying eggs in a cage more informed on energy policy that our potential future vice president of the United States?  That is hyperbole for sure but it illustrates the root of what I have come to fear in the Republican party’s offering for this year.

Thus I have come to decide that whether or not I agree with the policies and views of a particular party, the most important tenet of a candidate is whether they are even familiar with the information they need to make good decisions in the first place.  If they aren’t even equipped with that information then the decision they want to make is irrelevant.  Whether or not I agree with their intended direction means absolutely NOTHING.  The first step in fixing our energy/economy/unemployment/war crisis is knowing where we even stand.

[Roleplay]: “You’re the expert on energy; more informed than anyone else in the U.S. and you don’t know our own federal policy on oil exports?”  “You’re fired.  Collect your belongings and leave the building.”

If I didn’t know the basics in my position, I would be let go by my employer.  That’s how it works.  We trade you money for your time and expertise.  No knowledge, no paycheck, capiche?  Go back to grade school and try not to eat the books this time.

So after months of reading, referencing, watching, listening, and thinking, I have decided that in this race I support Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden for president in 2008.  I don’t agree with everything they have to say, but at least I can rest assured that it is informed and that when they make a decision, the intent of their decision can be trusted.

Ending on a lighter note, I have to present that the following is simply the best depiction of the upcoming race that I have seen.  Clean, crisp, and straight to the point:

http://community.livejournal.com/damnportlanders/13094327.html

“I’m Stuart Thompson, and I approve this message.”