prioritizing spending, the forgotten Al Gore, and great leaders...

as the bills keep piling up in connection with the ongoing attempt to subjugate the nation which we know as Iraq (thanks to those kind-hearted british imperialists who drew some lines in the sand and handed over power to an outsider) the presidential front-runners (a position that should be accompanied by deep shame) don't inspire much confidence. there is not a single candidate anywhere near the top of the major parties' lists which cannot be placed in this category: militaristic capitalist. even those that question the war in Iraq are doing so, not on the grounds that war is immoral and that slaughtering a hundred thousand cannot be justified, but because it is a mess that wasn't done right. not one of them is questioning the logic of spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the machinery of death and destruction, when that same amount could alleviate starvation worldwide if it were not sent to the pockets of those that learned that killing is big business in America. is it really too much to ask that we have one legitimate candidate willing to declare that a standing army in a purportedly democratic nation is a pretty bad idea, especially one that manages to suck so much time, energy and resources out of the wealth that could do so much good for so many? is it too much to ask that someone simply point out that we, as a people, are doing the worst prioritizing possible?

which brings me to Al Gore - one of my least favorite politicians of modern times. word on the street says that if gore decided to run, he would jump to the top of the democratic ticket...Exhibit A as to the reality that the democratic is not now, nor will it ever be, the answer. everyone seems to love gore now, holding him up as a bastian of environmentalism. it seems everyone has a short memory. it was not too long ago that gore was cheerleading for NAFTA, helping clinton shove it down the throats of an unwanting public, assuring us all that the environment would be taken care of...only when it came down to pressure from Big Business or the wants of the common man...Big Business won big, and the environment and the common man got screwed. it was not long ago that the god of globalization whispered in gore's ear and he sold out everything he claims to stand for. so mr. gore...exactly why would we trust you this time?

in the end, as I have been repeatedly reminded as of late, what has made this nation great, the steady climb towards greater equality, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness, has not been the result of great individual leaders. rather, it has occurred despite those leaders. the revolution and its ideals - the common man asserting popular sovereignty on an unwanting monarch. the fall of slavery - untold numbers of john and jane does upholding the spirit of that revolution. the civil rights legislation - millions forcing action. afterall...what is possibly more american than telling leaders to fuck themselves and forcing change by sheer force of popular will? my only question now...is just how fucked do you and I have to be before we stand shoulder to shoulder and demand recognition? how many militaristic, faux-free market loving hacks do we need to "choose" until we simply stop picking them? just how large of a breach of the social contract will justify our pulling out and re-writing it?

just a lie you tell yourself to help you get by...