Just a Midwest Boy

Socio-Political Commentary presented by someone who has no business in doing so.

 

I’d like us to think back to a name we may or may not have heard since childhood; Chicken Little. “The sky is falling!” – at least that’s what it feels like today amidst collapsing financial markets and impending global doom lurking around every corner. But hey, what would I know, I’m just a mid-twenty something from the Midwest. I’m as standard as they come. Who am I to say how things should and should not be?

Everywhere you look now you see a multitude of others who have, seemingly out of thin air, become full blown political scientists. It’s amazing really. “Barak Obama can save the world because rich people can suck it!” Or “John McCain is our savior because God told him that the poor people are holding us back.” Well folks, that’s all well and good, but could you please explain yourselves further? That’s when you’re slapped in the face with the coldest, blankest stare you could ever imagine, and for once, you may actually be able to understand what it feels like to stand in Sarah Palin’s shoes if but for only a minute.  It’s as though you’ve personally insulted everything they hold near and dear, despite the fact that your initial aim was not to insult, but perhaps to instead become more informed.

I guess it never occurred to me that having grounds for an opinion had become passé. You may in turn ask the enlightened ones, “what is your opinion on Barak Obama’s windfall tax plan for the big oil companies and how might that affect the general populous?” and you’re hit back with a “my candidate could beat up your candidate!” type response.

So, maybe you concede to the fact that you asked a question about the candidate they didn’t like, and therefore you didn’t deserve a response. Fair enough, right? You then decide to begin a discussion about the candidate that they do embrace. “So that John McCain, his five thousand dollar tax credit for seeking out private health care sure is something else isn’t it?!” and the insightful bit of witty banter you get back is”Hell yeah, I could totally use five grand, and health care is pretty cool too I guess.”

Now, I am by no means trying to say that people are stupid. My goal is not to insult but to enlighten, because, as I stated prior, I am just a boy from the Midwest; who am I to judge? It just seems to me, that if you have a fiery passion for something, you often tend to know a little something about it. Pass the bowl to the pot head and they’ll tell you if they’re smoking sweet bud or some schwizz grown in the ditch somewhere off highway 61. Ask the avid sports fans how many completions their hometown quarter back has made this season and they’ll tell you. Ask your girlfriend who got kicked off of Americas next top whatever, and she’ll gladly tell you who, why, how, and who should’ve been voted off the island instead. Now try asking the rabid green party candidate what Ralph Nader’s plan to fix the economy is and see how far that gets you.

The math doesn’t really seem to add up to me. I don’t care who you want to vote for, but you should probably know why. I thought that “W’ might have taught us that valuable lesson. Instead, we find ourselves treated to the likes of someone like Sarah Palin; the all knowing, machine gun toting, ethical maverick, hockey mom from the tundra. I’m not trying to toss in my own political agenda here either, but seriously, come on now. I could probably just as easily rip someone a new one on the other side, but she’s just a show stopper.

Ok, ok, all Palin jokes aside, let’s get back to the meat of the issue. All I ask is to simply know thy issue. It doesn’t seem to be rocket science. I know politics and economics are in fact complicated topics, but if you’re willing to be disgusted with someone over what it is they believe, you should probably know what it is that you believe, otherwise you’re no better than our friend chicken little. But, then again, what do I know, I’m just a mid-twenty something from the Midwest with a serious chip on his shoulder.

Reviews

[gravitylava]

I love the way you express yourself in your writing. You just throw everything on the table. I love this sentence-
"That's when you're slapped in the face with the coldest, blankest stare you could ever imagine, and for once, you may actually be able to understand what it feels like to stand in Sarah Palin's shoes if but for only a minute."

It's so descriptive, and just the way it sounds when I say it is great.
Good write.
-michelle

[.::Cup^E^Cake*RaWr!*::.]

Nice!! Very well written!!