The Power of Words

[Tarryk]

My severely-opinionated views (let's just say I'm a Moore fan, that's always the quickest way to wrap things up) have kept politics in a very "non-joke" state in my mind.

At my work, there are policies to not talk about sex, religion, or politics. Most workplaces have these policies. But I work in the basement studios of a radio station conglomerate. Policies, therefore, are mostly thrown out the window.

We all joke with each other about sex, that's a given. Some people are sensitive about religion, so we don't joke about that. Some people (like me) are sensitive about politics...but everyone EXCEPT me jokes about it.

Today I was upstairs filing some reports. A manager (Brad) and a salesperson (Shelley) walk by chatting, and stop in the hall directly behind me.

Brad (chuckling): "So I told [director of sales] Kelly that the reason all the Kerry spots got pulled today was because there's no way he can win. She was all like 'that's not even funny!'"

Shelley laughs.

Brad (joking tongue): Freakin' democrats.

Shelley: Ugh.

Brad: Be surprising as hell if there were any left in this city.

I raise my hand without turning to face them, then continue filing. Brad apparently sees me.

Brad (to me): Democrat, eh?

Me (nodding): And liberal.

Brad (laughing and joke-boxing at me): Bet yer left handed to, eh?

Me (nodding again): Yep. And I don't make much money.

I walk away.

The day passes, with Brad making a couple more off-handed jokes about my liberalism when he sees me. This is a manager, by the way.

Cut to about an hour ago, driving home from work. Signs in lawns: Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, and Bush. Not a single Kerry sign.

I'm sorry, but it's getting worse. I've been saving my little political rants for the GSP private forums because I didn't want to upset anyone. Well this is the only place where I can speak my mind without fear of disaster to my way of life. Feels like a bad movie.

This country's standing with our world allies is doomed if Bush wins. Anyone arguing that point needs to pull their head out of their ass.

And by the polls, that looks like a little more than half the country.

I haven't cried about politics until today driving home. Let's just say that I'm unable to express my anger at the blatant level of stupidity in this country without breaking at least one federal law.

So I'll sit back, bend over, and take it like a good little democrat, just the way we were bred: straight up the ass. Good job, republicans. Keep f*&#ing the lower class and you'll be nuked in no time. But at least you get to keep your assault rifle.

[Coltess]

You're not supposed to talk about politics at work?! I thought this was a free country!
I read about some state (Oregon?) which wanted to pass an amendment to their constitution that allowed them to split their electoral votes between candidates to better reflect the population. Now that is about time! Maybe some day soon, the president will actually represent a majority of the population

[Darth Bootay]

/me comforts Tarryk.

I'm not a Democrat OR a Republican. Which makes me in THEIR eyes a Democrat-by-default. And I'm right there with you taking it up the ass without so much as a kiss.

None of us who hold a political view that does not glorify putting more power and money into the hands of people who already have too much of both without the responsibility or moral fiber to handle either without screwing the majority has any real representation in the United States government. And none of us can express our views in safety outside of the severely limited privacy of our own homes or the shrinking freedom of the internet.

It's no secret what I think of "King" George the second OR his fascist father and what the two of them have done to our country's reputation. If there was a hell, I'd be calling them Satan's Favorite Stepchildren.

I may not always agree with your political views, but be assured I will always listen to them. And here, at least, you know that no one will mock you for them or hold them against you. I hope that there is comfort enough in that to keep you holding onto them. Because it is in our DIFFERENCES that we are strong and in our conflicts of opinion that we are able to grow and change for the better.

[Tarryk]

Thanks.

And one thing that keeps me going: I know that if Bush DOES win this election, it won't be by a landslide, and there's going to be pressure put on him.

And if there isn't, I'll be joining one of any number of lobbying groups that will be trying to PUT the pressure on him.

And I'm sure I'll get hanged for it by a whole lot of people. F*#& 'em. They did me.

Just 4 more years...maybe it'll take that much to prove to the Bush supporters just how blatantly stupid they were for re-electing him.

We ain't in the hole yet, though. Crossing fingers...and voting.

[Ichyro]

It seems like this generation is much more liberal democrat than republicain...still makes me feel like the conservatives are going to take over and mess up all of our lives.

*Pats Tarryk on back* Can empathize though. I am sorry to hear you are surrounded by such hellacious Bush support.


Thank you for talking and blessing us with your views. It might seem like mindless ranting to you, but hearing another weary voice can help share the weight on all of our shoulders. GSP will always enjoy to hear your opinion.

[Boinky]

Well hopefully we get the biggest turnout of 18-34 voters this time out, cause I'd be willing to bet that will swing the numbers to our favor a bit.

Oh and I generally consider myself a Democrat-type follower if you didn't get that. Not sure I could really consider myself an Independent as I've very little faith in how the system works nowadays. I'm pretty much a believer in "The lesser of two evils" as our choice, and despite the fact that I might never think any Republican would be that choice, Bush to me seems like entirely the right choice as the worst possible choice that I think anyone would see. But Conservative folks have funny ways of seeing things, don't they.

And for any Nader fans out there, in theory he sounds good, but considering the political system in this country and how it all works, I think it'd be really bad if he would ever get elected. Nobody in the government would want to work with him and that'd be a disaster.

/political rant off

[Tarryk]

I can appreciate Nader, but I certainly can't vote for him. When a candidate focuses on only a select handful of issues amongst a supernova of problems in a country, you have to wonder if he's going to screw up more than he fixes, even if you agree with the view on that handful of things.

[telnarus]

The key thing that both sides have to remember is balance of power. That was the point of the government to begin with. That is what many have to learn is where happines does reside is in balance. No I am not a buddhist or such, but there is a lot to be said with balance... It allows your wheels to stay attached to your car, it allows man to walk on the moon, it allows us to do the impossible.

Democrats are in most cases extremists, Republicans are extremists, Greens are extremists. Some balance needs to be had in government to allow all this shift around on policy to settle out. As log as we keep stirring the water in the puddle, we can not drink, we allow the sediments to settle and we can then drink. Our nation is starving morally and intellectually. Ethics have been tossed out the window. Living for today and not thinking about 5 years down the road is no longer brought up. I remember when a 5 year ROI (Return on investment) was the standard business principle. now, if a company loses money over the course of 3 years, they are ready to shut it down.

But as I said, there is much to be said for balance, yet many do not understand this concept nor try to follow it.

[Boinky]

You speak of the Political parties, balance, and extremism. A picture pops up in my head of a See-Saw and two people on the far ends balancing it out.

Now with that metaphor for the political struggle, what incentive really lies in either side to become less extreme? If you do bow to some concerns of the other side, essentially you lose out on what you had been fighting for and they win. Sadly, thats pretty much the fact of the matter nowadays.

[Lauri]

I don't follow politics.

I don't even LIKE politics.

I don't adhere to any particular party.

I've never voted. (while I regret not voting in 2000, it would've been a waste, right?)


But, all that said and done...
*pulls her brand spankin new voter registration card out of her wallet*

Looky! Yeah. I'll be there at the polls with the rest of the last minute registrants who desperately want to save their country.

No offense to Bush, really. It takes a certain amount of balls to run a country... but last I checked, voters had a 'say'.(debatable in some cases lol)
And I say No"W".(that's an Al Jourgensen plug, hear me roar)

[Tristalyn]

I want Hilary Clinton as president. I want a 'none of the above' box added to the ballads.

I want this election to be over with..

[Boinky]

Epicene For President! '08

[Coltess]

Epicene For President! '08

What he said!

[Mumon]

Well Tarryk, if it makes you feel any better, my mom wants to vote for Bush, but my Dad and my Brother want to vote for Karry.

As for me, I'm not voting. Not because I'm lazy, or don't care about our country but because I don't care for Bush or Karry.

I realy hate to say this but I know who is going to win already. It doesn't matter how close the election is, because it's going to fall a certain way. I realy should write my prodiction and place it in a sealed envolope and mail it to myself so it gets that Goverment Stamp over the postal stamp. Then after the election I could open it up and show everyone what my "prodiction" was.

But on anouther note, here is what the DNRC suggests that you do. Find someone that is going to vote the exact reverse of what you plan on voting. Talk to them and convince them that your two votes cancel each other out and that you both could save some time by not going in to vote on that day. Be honest, on election day don't go in... just fill out an absentee ballet. When the person you made the deal with asks you if you kept up your end of the bargen you can now be honest and say yes you did.

[edit add: Pardon my spelling. I am the wurlds warst speeler. Didn't have time to spell check it either.]

[Vallikat]

[edit add: Pardon my spelling. I am the wurlds warst speeler. Didn't have time to spell check it either.]

Don't worry, Mumon. I speak fluent typo.

[Boinky]

Find someone that is going to vote the exact reverse of what you plan on voting. Talk to them and convince them that your two votes cancel each other out and that you both could save some time by not going in to vote on that day.

Another idea: Find 10 people who are going to vote for the big bad W and drug them & tie them up in your basement till Nov 3rd!

[Firia]

I have to wonder. Most ALL my friends, up until now, never voted. Never cared about politics. Never held a political view in their life. Democrat? What was that? Where's the dictionary?

Year 2000 rolls around. Bush wins. Eyes open, jaws drop. Sweat begins to drip, and heart rates take off. What political knowledge we gained through osmosis set off our greater fight or flight insticts, and we knew we were doomed.

It really says alot when massive numbers of so-called Political Passives that never voted before or paid attention to the way of our country are waking up and rushing to the polls. The generation that should have been voting in 1995 to 2000 era's area all snapping to attention. They realise that they can't allow bush to win, so they're doing the only (legal) thing they can do! Voting! I know many that don't care much for the issues that Kerry does or does not support. They're at least banking on the Lesser of Two Evils concept.

I'm personally very Anti-Bush. I would vote for a bannana over the current crap-for-brains in the office right now. And I will vote. I should have voted in 2000, but I'll not allow the same mistake to happen again. I'm going to do what I (legally) can do to stop bush from making it.

The only people I know that arn't interested in voting are the politicaly uninformed youth (ages it'd seem are in the 18 y/o range), and shut ins. I'm a roomie with a shut in. And his "I don't care about politics" perspective is frustrating when you know what's on the line. When you know what's riding are aspects of your future, "I don't care about politics" envokes the urdge to put my palm right up some chumps head, and scream "What do you mean you don't care?! Don't you understand? Are you mentally unballenced?!"

*sigh* I share Tarryks perspective. There's alot of Kerry support around here. But I live in a swing state. (We're divided by a freakin mountain range, and East of the mountains is very hick-style Bush lovers.) I'm not going to allow the polls to be short 1 vote if I can help it. When I do see Bush support in either passer-bys that honk at Bush support flaggers, I can't help but wonder what exactly it is that possesses these people to think that 4 more years of what we've already experianced, if not WORSE, is good for you?! Do we live in a country of sadism? (Privately we may ) A country that doesn't realise it's being screwed up the hind end even while it's happening?

Deviating -- (Ugh! tell me how "Did you have sexual relations with this woman" attracted more political force and pressure than "Mr president, there are no WMD's to be found"?! Is it because in the latter of the two there's other people to blame? Where's the disgruntaled postalmen with the high powered sniper rifles like I predicted?! UGH! Bush really CAN get away with anything as long as there's someone to take the blame! What's more he'll keep on doing it! AUGH!)

...
It's small wonder that politics are taboo in some business places. It can sure juice up a number of emotions.

[Boinky]

The difference Fir is simply this

-Clinton had a Sex Scandal. Great for papers & TV shows. Everybody wants to know about it, and everybody can find a way to condemn it. Especially the Conservatives (even though half of them probably do worse things if not the same thing)

-Bush took us to war in the wrong country against the wrong guy. Now we have troops in peril all the time plus civilian contractors. Even those opposed to his actions must still have support for the innocent folks who got thrust into this situation. Heck, look at how they are beating down Kerry cause he says it was the "wrong war at the wrong time". They tear him to shreds cause he points out their mistake and it seems to stick pretty well too.

And even their approaches to a mistake a very different. Clinton essentially tried to deny it. Bush says "It was the right thing to do and I'd do it again even knowing what we know now"

[Chronita]

New to the boards, but this is a very old subject for me Before I begin, a couple asides:

- Colorado is the state with the amendment on the ballot that would split the state's electoral votes to represent the popular vote. One reason I know this is b/c I live in CO I must say, just the chance that it passes and that my vote will count in the end no matter who "wins" the state is a huge motivation to vote. The electoral college needs several updates, but if this passes in CO, then many other states do the same in the coming years we will be on the right path.

- My old boss once said that there are 2 things you should never discuss at work: politics and religion :p While I speak my mind more often than not and totally support freedom of speech, I do believe this is good advice Not that discourse is not healthy, but I've noticed when discussing politics at work 1 of 2 things happen 1) you get a group that agrees with each other and after a while all that agreeing just gets you angry again about the opposing side OR 2) you have ppl that disagree, thus throwing the rest of the day into an uneasy quandry of "did i just piss off co-worker x who i usually get along with so well" or "i wonder if boss y will give me that raise now that he knows i'm a liberal pansy." :p In the end, you just wish you had not brought it up to begin with.

Now, to the election on the whole I'm supporting Kerry, but I am one of those 66%ish polled that support Kerry b/c I'm anti-Bush. The 2000 election was the first time I was able to vote for a president, and b/c of that I suppose 2000 was when I first became interested in politics. Looking back, the funniest (or most depressing - depends on how you look at it) thing about the 2000 election is that there was a large chunk of the voting population that really didnt think there was much difference between Gore and Bush. Especially after the debates (and how SNL portrayed them) the choice seemed more like pompass ass vs. dumbass than liberal vs conservative. Because of how that election played out, and how the media continually harped on the most meaningless stuff (like they still do), a lot of ppl voted dispassionately. Only after the realization that Bush will win the election via a favorable Supreme Court ruling did a lot of ppl wake up a bit and realize what their votes actually meant, both to them as concerned citizens and to the national stage as well.

The point of that whole paragraph was not to bum anyone out, but to enforce the notion that every vote matters, even in elections where on the surface it doesnt seem like it does. Thus in 2000 we elected a Republican, and not just any Republican, a real right-winger I think a lot of ppl forgot what Republicans stand for, and that the most extreme of the GOP was backing (re: controlling) Bush. And so what did we get? We got a huge tax cut so we wouldnt have to worry about those pesky surpluses any more. We got an administration with strong ties to strong lobbies so that business can dictate national policy. And oh yeah, we got an administration of ideologues who still had their eye on Iraq pre-9/11, and who lived and dreamed Iraq afterwards. Now, I cant fault the voters too much - even I had no idea how bad Cheney, Rove, Rumsfield and Co. were. But this entire 4 years proves how important it is to stay informed and involved in the political process. While we are not directly responsible for the things the Bush admin. does, if we as a nation elect him, there is nothing we can do to reverse the situation until he breaks a law and is impeached. And since Bush is not going to make the mistake of lying about oral sex, that whole impeachment option is pretty thin. :p Therefore we have to get it right the first time, or given the chance this year, the second time.

I wont go into my anti-Bush speech now tho, I'll simply say I'm happy to see ppl on this thread talking about voting this time. Even if Bush wins again, one victory that can be claimed for the other side is that a lot more ppl are involved and aware than 4 years ago. Involvement breeds concern, and concern action. A good example is Howard Dean's campaign. Tho he didnt have the presidential smile and made a noise on live TV never before heard, he ran a good campaign and energized voters. Today long after defeat many of those that supported him are still active - either in getting out the vote, or in many cases running for/helping to run local campaigns for lesser offices. While many ppl may abhor politics, the only way things are going to get any better is if we make an effort to change it.

[Tarryk]

Personally, I was 100% for Wesley Clark, and was severely disappointed when he dropped out of the race. He was the only one that held a candle of intelligence to the democratic party AND had the leadership skill to back it up.