We Should Be Mad

As the elections this year approach, we should all be mad as hell.  All it takes is juxtaposing the world’s problems and what candidates wish to discuss.  I do this probably more than I ought to, as my wife would tell you, and I feel like the Earth is the universe’s largest insane asylum.  Let’s look at our problems:

*  Energy costs are rising and will only continue to rise.  As we approach the world’s peak oil production, fossil fuels, the cheapest most abundant source of energy that mankind has ever known, will be at a premium.  Wars are being waged over control of oil and more are going to be fought.  We’re not making technological advances quickly enough to mitigate the impact of the shrinking oil supply and increased world demand.  Instead, we’re driving SUVs and occupying the Middle East while Brazil has become practically energy independent...after 20 years and billions and billions of dollars to do so. 

*  Healthcare in the U.S. is the most expensive in the world yet rates last in quality among health care in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.  The U.S. has the second worst newborn death rate in the modern world.  Those are just some recent articles.  Currently, about 44 million Americans lack healthcare insurance.  Many that are insured still do not seek medical attention for illness for inability to meet deductibles, copays, etc.  Healthcare access is in limbo between right and privilege and can and should do better.

*  Education:  The fate of empires depends on the education of youth." - Aristotle.  For the 2007 federal budget, President Bush requested $54.4 billion for the Department of Education and about $440 billion for the Department of Defense.  Think about that.  The federal government will spend about 8 times more money on defense than on education.  I’m not anti-military, far from it.  As a veteran, I understand the importance of the military and the vital role it serves, but I have to admit that I’m concerned about the disparity.  Education needs to be a priority, not a sound bite, not a campaign promise, but a real-honest-to-God priority.  We have a shrinking middle class.  Only about 1 out of every 4 Americans 25 or older has at least a bachelor’s degree.  According to the 2004 Census, the median income of a high school graduate is about $26k/year and the median income of a person with a bachelor’s degree is over $47k/year.  Think of a two-income household where both parents have bachelor’s degrees (as is often the case as I see it since college students meet and marry other college students) and bring in an average of $94k/year versus two parents with high school diplomas that bring in $52k/year, and you can see how they might lead different lives (see healthcare and energy costs, above).  Aside from that, a CNN.com article recently stated that nearly 2/3 of Americans aged 18 to 24 could not find Iraq on a map and 1/3 could not point out Louisiana on a U.S. map!  Laugh at that.  Laugh that the same study also showed that 1/2 could not identify New York or Ohio, and tell me we spend enough on education. 

*  The War in Iraq.  FYI: The U.S. hasn’t known 20 consecutive years of peace since before WWII (and that’s just barely with WWI ending in 1918 and U.S. involvement in WWII beginning roughly in 1939).  Iraq is costing us about $6 billion per month and has already taken the lives of around 2,000 U.S. soldiers and countless civilians.  We invaded Iraq on the premise that they had WMDs and would soon have the capability of using them on U.S. soil.  Well, that sort of wasn’t true, and damn if we aren’t in a heap of shit now.  We probably did irreparable damage to the integrity of U.S intelligence when we sent Secretary Powell before the United Nations with maps, slides, pictures and a very convincing argument that we were right.  We’ve turned Iraq into a cause and a breeding ground for terrorists, not only with the invasion itself initiated by lies but with incidents like Abu Gharib and the recent Marine murders of civilians in Haditha and the suspected intentional slaying of an unarmed Iraqi man in Hamdaniya by Marines.

* The NSA Phone Call Database.  Regardless of your stance on this issue, it’s one that needs to be discussed out in the open and not clandestinely in government chambers by people who are not held accountable to the American Public.  You may have heard that the FCC and the Justice Department began an inquiry into the NSA’s phone call surveillance program.  The result?  They were deemed unable to review the program because they lacked the government clearance necessary to review the goings-on of the NSA.  This should scare you.  We have a government entity that can conduct operations and surveillance on the U.S. public without warrant and without any accountability to the Justice Department, one of three branches of our government intended to serve as a check and balance for the other two.  The very nature of the design of our government is that no entity goes unchecked.  We have three branches for a reason, and now the design has been compromised.

Now let’s look at what the politicians want to discuss:

* Gay Marriage
* Immigration
* Energy to some extent, although they’re debating off-coast drilling as close as 3 miles rather than seeking alternatives

That just pisses me off.  Gay marriage?  The President wants to talk about a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage??  Are you kidding me?  The people that are fooled by such an obvious act of prestidigitation intended to deflect attention from more serious issues to one that may (note, MAY) affect 2% of the population should be shot.  I’m monumentally hard-pressed to think of a current issue that’s less important to me right now than gay marriage.  Truly.  I don’t give a rat’s ass if I’m completely surrounded by gay neighbors who’ve wallpapered their houses with copies of their marriage certificate.  We have serious issues and need serious people to address them.  I can see immigration being an issue worthy of discussion at some point, but surely it doesn’t merit discussion ahead of and actually in lieu of the ones I’ve discussed. 

Please don’t think I believe the democrats have all of the answers or anything.  They’re just as idiotic because they’ll allow the Republicans to decide the issues.  They’ll be dumb enough not only to discuss crap like gay marriage but also to take the unfavorable side of the issue with regard to the average American.  Instead of saying, "We have more important issues to discuss...", they’ll try to protect gays and lesbians and let the issue decide the occupants of countless offices.

So if you’re as mad as I am, write your representatives.  Go to the Senate’s web site, find your senators, and write them.  Tell them what’s on your mind and that you vote.  Unless, of course, you want to talk about gay marriage.