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Pan,
I couldn't agree more. I'm expecting - some time in the near future - our presidential elections to be decided in an Ultimate Fighting style. Eligible voters will turn to pay-per-view to watch the candidates beat the living hell out of each other and the winner gets to be president.
While there are still those out there on both sides of the political spectrum who wish we would focus on how to make our country better for everyone, the ones getting the airtime and the ones being heard are those whose sole purpose is to destroy the other candidate as viciously as possible. This does not make me proud of our political process. I'm ashamed of what our nation stands for when I see this kind of behavior in those we look to as leaders. We have reached this point, however, because we are okay with it. We don't demand anything better in our candidates. We as voters could change this behavior if we really wanted to change it.
The majority of voters in this country not only are satisfied with mediocrity, they defend mediocrity with a vitriol usually reserved for extremist fundamentalists. While I typically vote democrat, I have no problem saying that I was less than enthusiastic with the pool of possible Democratic candidates introduced to us early this year. I kept thinking to myself, "Is this the best the Democratic Party has to offer?" With a sad sigh, I realized that indeed it was. Likewise, it would be very difficult to convince me that George Bush is the best the Republicans could find. Surely there must be someone far more presidential than him.
But, as the saying goes, we get what we deserve.
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"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses
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