Tigue O'Connor's Weblog

“Well, you know, Barack Obama is a Muslim,” is a quote I’ve heard repeatedly from some McCain’s supporters over the course of the last few months. Not only is the argument completely fallacious, but it’s also deeply entrenched in prejudice. Sen. Obama is not a Muslim, but even if he was, that should never be taken into consideration.

Statements such as these are no different than signs designating separate drinking fountains for whites and blacks. They are in no way different than signs that once read “Jews need not apply” or “Irish need not apply.” These kinds of statements are exactly what led to six million Jews being murdered during World War II. They are what allowed people to justify to themselves that it was acceptable to try and extinguish an entire race of people simply because they possessed a belief system that deviated from their own.

If the argument that he is a Muslim is an acceptable one, than so is the argument that you shouldn’t vote for someone simply because they are Jewish, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, Agnostic, or Atheist. That being said, the odds of being elected President of the United States as anything other than a white Anglo-Saxon protestant is about 1 out of every 43 (thank you John F. Kennedy), or just 2%. If the United States is truly the world’s “melting pot” then shouldn’t the leaders of this country reflect that, or should we continue on a path of prosaic understanding of those that live amongst us with a different set of beliefs, never truly shattering the ever present glass ceiling?

“I think Barack Obama’s popularity stems from the fact that he is black,” is yet another ridiculous statement that I’ve recently heard from some of McCain’s supporters. Yet again, this is another example of prejudice, plain and simple. One would be hard pressed to find a black man or woman in these United States that felt that they somehow benefited from being black. Let us review some of these so called benefits.

First of all, they were brought to this country, chained to the floor of slaves ships, ripped apart from their families and homelands, and sold as property. Then they were considered to be only 2/3 of a person. Then they were lynched and deprived the right to vote. Then they were told they were second class citizens and were segregated from the rest of the population. In the same way, they were forced into welfare systems with no foreseeable way out, paid less for the same work as their white counterparts, and forced into overcrowded and dangerous prisons for victimless crimes. This form of hegemony over the black man does not seem like it would lend itself to popularity.

Sen. Obama’s popularity has nothing to do with the fact that he has a black father, his popularity has to do with the fact that he transcends race. His popularity is an amalgamation, which is the mark of a true American. We are all composed of different races, ethnicity’s, and religions. If our assertion to the world is that we are the “melting pot,” electing Sen. Obama would finally prove it.

The fact that these 2008 Olympic Games have been some of the most successful, at least as far as ratings go, since 1976 is proof that the American people are hungry to believe again.  They are hungry to believe in the American dream.  They are hungry to believe that we are the greatest nation in the world. That we are the beacon of light in the ever present darkness.

If Americans are being honest with themselves, they know that new car smell we used to walk around the world with has been supplanted with the  putrid smell of a 1967 Thunderbird, whose owner is a habitual smoker, drinks too much, and occasional uses his car as a toilet.  The world has viewed us for far too long as Imperialists who wants to conquer the globe with McDonald’s, Nike, and Capitalism.  But we are so much more than that.

The Olympics is our chance to asseverate to the world that we wish to lead by example, and that our athletes, born into a free society, can reach for the stars and touch them.  Grace and dignity seems to be more commonplace during these Olympics than in many of the years past, which could not have come at a better time in U.S. history.

But what is most important is the proof that there are still heroes in America.  There are people within our midst that strive for the impossible dream of being the absolute best in the world and accomplish it.  Although the U.S. makes mistakes (please see Iraq, Vietnam, New Coke, Steve Guttenberg), we eventually expiate our sins by doing something right.  The Beijing Olympics seems like a good place to start.

It would appear that the metaphorical boxing gloves are off in the race for the Presidency.  With a new series of attack ads leveled at Sen. Obama from Sen. McCain’s camp (who, at one time pledged to run a clean campaign), it is clear that dirty politics is the name of the game.

These ads are only adumbrating of what is to come.  It is really no surprise that Sen. McCain threw the first punch.  In all honesty, it was down right necessary.  Sen. McCain is behind in the polls and the media coverage devoted to Sen. Obama must seem like a constant stream of encomiums.

The latest ad from the Repubes (my little nickname for Republicans) involves a crowd chanting Sen. Obama’s name, as images of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton flash on the screen in a subliminal manner.  These ads want to paint Sen. Obama as a flash in the pan celebrity, and nothing more.  Unfortunately, these ads couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Sen. Obama has never flashed his naughty bits to the paparrazzi.  Sen. Obama has never had a DUI (see previous President).  Sen. Obama is not a rich socialite who increased their own fame by “accidentally” releasing a sex tape.  A comparison between these two glorified prostitutes and Sen. Obama is fatuous.

Sen. Obama has yet to release a political commercial as jejune as the one that Sen. McCain just released, but he should.  The Repubes have used these meretricious tactics over the course of the last two presidential elections, and there is no denying their efficacy.

Therefore, the next political commercial released and approved by Sen. Obama’s campaign should go a little something like this:  a small crowd should be chanting Sen. McCain’s name as pictures of pudding, a shuffle board court, and a picture of Abe Simpson (from The Simpsons) flash across the screen.  Then, that quintessential movie voice should say, “John McCain listens to the T.V. at insanely high levels.  John McCain often confuses the names of his grandchildren.  Will he mix up the names of world leaders?  Can you trust a man like this to be President?  I’m Barack Obama and I’ve approved this message.”

Although this would be a blatant attack on his age, is it any different than the scare tactics used in the 2004 election, where wolves were used to depict the “terrorist threat” that would hunt down and eat us all if we mistakenly voted for Sen. Kerry?  I think not.  It’s time to truly fight fire with fire.  The Democrats should be over taking the high road, because the high road leads to Loserville.

In a recent conversation with an individual, I asked them what they knew of America’s history. Their response was more disheartening than being gang-raped in prison. They said, and I quote, “History, man, that’s just a bunch of crap that already happened. It’s so boring.”

History is boring? I never got any memo informing me of this. I was always taught that if we didn’t study history it was doomed to repeat itself. Is it this lack of knowledge that has made the American people so amenable?

For instance, during the Spanish-American War at the turn of the 20th Century, it was widely publicized that the American people wanted war. Almost every major newspaper in the country continued to publish stories how the call to war was necessary and that public opinion was almost 100% behind it. When the war was over, the working class came to the realization that nothing for them had changed. They were actually worse off than they were before the start of the war. The leading corporations of the time, that were in bed with our government, reported huge profits, and the lower and middle class continued to be exploited. This war served its purpose of spreading our imperialist agenda, but did little for the working class citizens of this country. Have we become so credulous as a nation that we fail to recognize that history has repeated itself with “Operation Iraqi Freedom?”

Before the Iraq War began, a majority of our news programs, newspapers, and magazines had quotidian reports that Iraq and its leader were an imminent threat to our way of life. We were told that the Iraqi’s had WMDs. We were told that Osama and Hussein were best buddies, drinking cocktails and laughing it up while the Twin Towers fell. We were told the war would pay for itself. We were even told that the mission was accomplished.

These reports were only meant to obfuscate us as a nation, and they succeeded, much like they succeeded in the Spanish-American War. With an end to this war possibly insight, the dust is beginning to settle all around us, and now, with the dust settled, it’s becoming clear that we were hoodwinked once again.

Maybe, just maybe, with a little more understanding of history, the right questions would have been asked before the war began rather than after. Maybe 4,000+ American lives could have been saved. Maybe, as CNN reported, an estimated 655,000 Iraqi lives could have been saved. Maybe we wouldn’t have to decide between buying a gallon of milk for our families or buying a gallon of gas to get to work. Maybe the mortgage crisis could have been avoided. Maybe, just maybe, history isn’t just something that already happened.

Recently on the CBS program Face the Nation it was reported that the total combined cost for the race to the white house will be almost $2 billion. Why would anyone want a job that costs $2 billion dollars to earn, but only pays $400,000 annually? Even if the Presidency is the most powerful office in the free world, it is still a prodigal use of money. The cost to become President is 10,000 times greater than the amount one actually gets paid to do the job. Now, I’m no math wizard, but this seems a tad infelicitous.

The current population of the United States is 301,139,947. Broken down, that would mean about $7 per citizen, or $31.50 per average household (this, of course, is based on the national average of a husband, wife, and 2.5 children. I have yet to meet anyone with just half a child, but if you ever come across one, please let me know). If this doesn’t seem like a like a lot of money, it’s because it isn’t. But $7 is enough for a meal at one of our country’s surfeit fast food chains. $31.50 is enough to buy a family of four enough groceries for 2 or 3 days. So, although it is not a lot of money, it is money that could be put to good use.

Instead it is spent on negative attack ads and private jets. It is spent on expensive haircuts and staged photo opportunities. It’s spent on trying to convince people of something they are most likely implacable about.

I understand that money is a necessity in political campaigns. Candidates have platforms they want the American public to be knowledgeable about, so when they go to the polls in November, they can make an informed and intelligent decision. On the other hand, using these amounts of money has more of a spurious effect. When I see a summer blockbuster that cost $125 million to make, I know that I’m going to see a spectacle. These films are usually big and flashy but lack substance. These films do not spark reverent feelings. They may peek an interest or entertain, but they do not change me.

The same can be said of this Presidential race. $2 billion can buy a lot of flash and special effects, but is real substance (i.e. issues that effect our daily lives) an afterthought? I think it just might be.

Red-State, Blue-State, you hate, I hate…

In the current political climate, it becomes difficult to understand someone with opposing political views. Why someone wants to vote for Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain is the biggest dividing line in our country, or so the media would have us believe.

The left-wing views the right-wing as archaic and war-hungry. The right-wing views the left as a bunch of bombastic tree-hugging hippies who think the world can be saved through marijuana smoke and kisses. Each side continues to deliver fervent diatribes attempting to poke holes in the other side’s arguments. But after all is said and done, the lines are still drawn, and no one wants to cross them.

Buffalo Springfield said it best with, “Nobodies right, and every body’s wrong. Young people speakin’ their minds, gettin’ so much resistance from behind.” The young will always have a different view of the world than the elderly. The rich will always look at things differently than the poor. So will races and genders and ethnic groups, which brings to mind the image of Dorothy saying “Lions & Tigers & Bears…Oh my!”

Dorothy’s march down the yellow brick road was an arduous one. Along the way, she learned that the lions, tigers, and bears were not to be feared, but befriended. Yes, they were different, but they were also the same. They had hopes and fears. They had brains. They had hearts. They had courage.

These differences in opinions should not divide, but unite us. It seems that in the “communication age” nobody is actually communicating. Americans do not have malevolent feelings for their neighbors with different view points. It is the lack of understanding that divides us. Simple communication, understanding why our neighbors feel the way they do, is the pith of bringing us together again as one nation. Without it, we will become the The United North East, Midwest, West Coast, Everything in the Middle, States of America.

If we continue to ignore one another, Dr. Seuss can officially change the title of his book to “Red-State, Blue-State. You hate, I hate.” We have long been a nation of diversity, but how much longer will it be before certain Americans only eat green eggs, and certain Americans only eat ham?

My grandmother mowed her own lawn (no, this is not a playful uphamism) until she was 80 years old.  She walked her dog everyday, paid her bills, went to church, and could hold conversations for hours on end covering a wide range of topics.  My grandmother is now 91, her body cannot do many of these things anymore, her hearing is gone, but her brain is still as sharp as a tack. 

This sounds like a ringing endorsement for Sen. John McCain.  My grandmother makes him look like a young whipper-snapper in comparison.  Unfortunately, it is not.  Just because Sen. McCain was around to see monkeys evolve into human beings (yes, this is how it happened no matter what your church teaches you), Julius Caesar murdered, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the Germans defeated twice does not mean he is qualified for the Presidency of the United States.

In the year 2000, I truly feel that John McCain deserved the nomination of his party.  There is a good possibility that even I would have voted for him over Captain Planet (a.k.a Al Gore), but those days are long gone.  McCain has missed the mark, much like a drunk misses the toilet after 11 beers.  McCain was beaten by George W. Bush, a man who had never done anything successfully in his life, besides hitting the sperm lottery by being born into the Bush family.  Maybe if McCain had a cocaine and alcohol addiction up until 1986 he would have been more qualified for the Presidency like his predecessor.  Instead McCain chose the easy path of going into the armed services, being captured by the Vietnamese, refusing to hide in his big daddy’s pocket, and escaping with his life.  He worked his way up through the ranks, first in the House of Representatives, and later becoming a Senator in 1986, where he has remained for 22 years.

His accomplishments and heroism are unparalleled.  I commend Sen. McCain on everything he has done for this country.  But this country also set the retirement age at 65.  We’ve done this because things start to go haywire in our bodies after 65.  Adult diapers and dentures come into play.  Shuffle board and pudding become staples of daily life.  Some people, like my grandmother, live extremely productive and happy lives years after retirement, but others slowly decay into dementia or Alzheimer’s (does Ronald Reagan ring a bell?).

I truly wish Sen. McCain all the best, but once you start farting dust, it’s truly time to hit the ole’ dusty trail.  I adore my grandmother too, but I wouldn’t vote for her either.  Sen. McCain and his generation have had their time.  It’s time for new leadership.  It’s time for new ideas.  It’s time for “change.”