This year’s election is important in many ways. This election includes the first black man running for president, the inclusion of women, one a presidential candidate and the other possible vice-president, and an almost unprecedented number of potential voters showing real interest in the political system of what has been one of the most powerful countries on the earth. This election also exemplifies the nature of the citizenship of the country. Black people voting for a man because of his color and white people not voting for the same reason, women backing Ms. Clinton and to a lesser degree Ms. Palin for no other reason than their gender, rich people voting for the candidate that allows them to stay the richest and poor people voting for the candidate that promises them more access to money. The typical mud-throwing has been a part of this race as well: Obama is a terrorist, McCain is too old and out of touch, and of course Ms Palin… Some of the accusations seem valid and others are too far-fetched to be even considered. Religious affiliation, no doubt, plays its role as well. Religious voters are by a long shot affiliated with, and even define, the Republican Party. It is them who most likely deem Mr. McCain as being too “left-wing” or “liberal”. They will vote for McCain because he and his running mate, Ms. Palin, are both supporters of ridding this country of Roe-vs-Wade, and allowing creationism in the classroom. The divisions of this country seem clear.
To vote, or not vote, on a person on the grounds of the color of their skin is ludicrous; it is a sign of ignorance if not stupidity, and it leads to nowhere useful or good either for individuals or the country as a whole. There will always be those who do so, and most likely a greater percentage than most think, but those people are nothing more than backwards-thinking ignoramus’. The color of one’s skin is a genetic trait, not a choice and hence has no real bearing on who a person is. Now it is true that this country has been in part defined by racism, a heinous disease caused by fear and stupidity, but to vote on the basis of skin-color is simply a perpetuation of that disease. Voting for a person because of their gender is no different than that of color. Claiming that having a woman in office is a good thing simply by virtue of her being a woman is no different than the argument put forth by men for men, in the history of this country. Chauvinism in any form is simply a variation of racism and is motivated by the same two causes: fear (in the form of anger) and ignorance (in the form of unwarranted evidence and narrow-mindedness). People who vote based on race or gender vote that way because they equate some physical trait to an intellectual understanding: a relationship which simply does not exist. In essence, they vote for selfish reasons. The rich will vote for that candidate that helps them, and the poor will do likewise. There is some validity to the claim that Mr. McCain is too old and there is some validity to the claim that Mr. Obama has too little experience; depending on who you are these can also be positive points. The point here is that many people, if not most, vote for mundane, meaningless, and sometimes completely out of ignorance or selfish desire.
To base one’s vote on emotional motivation is dangerous. Emotional motivation includes race and gender. Also, to vote simply because one candidate is helpful and supportive to your personal cause or interest is narrow-minded, short-sighted, and if not dangerous then ignorant and selfish. A country is defined by its citizens as individuals, but cannot be defined by individual citizen’s interests. To do so is counter-productive. A “country” is a collection, an understanding between citizens and individuals, a compromise between our individual needs and desires and the country’s needs and desires. Until these simple tenants are understood this country will remain divided. In short, as individuals we ought to vote on issues rather than personal opinion. But, since we are individuals this means that we will inevitably vote on a candidate that holds some viewpoints that area contrary to our own: this is the nature of living in a civilized society. There are certain issues that may be more important than others, but politically speaking there will always be a compromise on both the candidate’s part and on the part of citizens.
Race is not an issue, and neither is gender, but equal consideration for all races and genders is. Being rich or poor is not an issue, but equal and fair taxation and consideration for all is. Religious affiliation is not an issue, but the freedom to worship and be free from religion altogether is. Individuals are free to be racists and/or chauvinists, religious or atheists, but they are not free to expect others to adhere to their own brand of thinking. There is nothing wrong with being rich and being poor is often based on one’s own decision-making; being rich because of special consideration and being poor because of unfair practices is wrong. The creation of a system which allows tax-loopholes and subsidies for the rich while not taxing those who are poor and allowing the irresponsible use of welfare is an important issue. The important political issues are those that have a bearing on us a citizens rather than individuals. The pathetic condition of our education system, the deficit created by governmental spending, infrastructure, and personal freedoms are all important political issues. More to the point: the degradation of the American education system by lowered standards and the inclusion of personal religious beliefs is an important issue. Intelligent design is doing nothing less than expecting special consideration. Special consideration given to anyone on the basis of color, gender, belief or economic status undermines the concept of equal consideration for all, an understood foundation of the politics of this country, and is an important issue.
There are important issues but these seem to be forgotten, hidden under personal desires and selfish want, whether that is religious, race, gender, economic status or sexual orientation. These are specific problems that are not necessarily issues. Religion becomes an issue when it defines a politic, such as the Republican platform has been defined by the religious right in recent years. The Democratic party, on the other hand defines itself on the unreal platform of equality for all. None of us are equal; rather there ought to be equal consideration. If a politician is blatantly racist or chauvinistic (against black or white people, men or women), then that is an issue because he/she is in a position to make personal issues into national ones. These are personal issues rather than political ones, however. The one issue that plagues our nation currently is that many voters vote not out of intelligent consideration for issues that affect the nation, but out of selfish and ignorant desires that concern them as individual alone rather than a nation as a whole. As individuals, we must think about our nation, and as a nation, we must continually hold the individual as important. Otherwise, we will continually have the meaningless banter, and useless discussions that we have had for the past decades if not centuries.
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