There's an email flying around, some kind of "letter to Canadians" from Michael Moore. Personally, I have no respect or liking for the guy. I don't have much respect for anyone who only seeks to spread the bad about others. It's That said, I admit I don't know enough about the different platforms to make any kind of solid argument for why I feel relieved that the Liberals are not in power anymore. I've read the platforms of each party, and I've read "news" articles, and commercials and editorials on various issues, but who is to say where the truth in all that is? That's what gets me--everything is so skewed and masked and "alleged" that I haven't been able to form any firm convictions on which party to vote for.
Before the whole Iraq & Afghanistan wars, I was totally cheering for Bush to beat out Gore (still living in the States at this time was me). And I think he has some good qualities and I like some of the things he stands for. And I think his wife is pretty awesome, too. But then the whole war came around and I'm inundated with this and that opinion of this and that paper and important person, and my own thoughts are pushed here and there and twisted around, tied in a knot and spit out and I'm left wondering what the hell I believed in the first place. I think it would be ideal if conflict didn't come to war, but it seems the world has not reached the point yet where conflicting countries can actually sit down and talk about it and come to a resolution. That would be the ideal solution, but it's not going to happen. So the way I see it, initially Bush was taking charge and going after the fuckers that attacked Americans on home soil. If it were that simple, I'd say "good for you". If they can't be swayed to bugger off, then better to make sure they know that your country is not one to mess with. But of course it got way more complicated than that, and the Iraq war started, and maybe it is for the freedom of the people, or oil, or nuclear weapons or whatever, and while I doubt the Iraqis would have come to the changes they have through the Americans being there, I don't know if it's right to impose those changes on them either. Apparently a lot of Iraqi civilians are opposed to the American "help". But who can know for sure.
I find it all very muddling... I don't take any news at face value because I know it has to be doctored to fit the angle that that news station represents and it's all filled with "allegedly" and so carefully crafted that how can anyone any of it as a whole truth?
Someday I'll find a way to better educate myself about all of this. But until then, that was my convoluted little soap box.
4 comments:
The way I view it, each party is made up of 3 basic platforms: Their moral platform or social platform, their economic platform, and their environmental platform. During the election process, I totally ignore any media propaganda and the promises that will be broken by anyone who gets voted into power. I base my vote on what is the most important to me on each party's platform.
For me, social morals are the most important, then the environmental stance comes in second, and finally the economic platform. So, because social morals are so important to me, I voted Liberal, as I can relate to their socially liberal standpoint the easiest. I am somewhat more granola than I ever though, so Green Party would have been my second choice, NDP my third (because I am more capitalist than socialist), and Conservatives - Well, I would abstain from voting all together if they were the only ones running.
Basically, I find the party who's platform sits closest to my heart, and I vote for them. I don't vote for my local representative, or who I want to see run the country. I just vote for the party itself.
That's how I cleared the whole political debate in my own head, and how I finally came to my voting decision.
well, i know we are hated and despised by pretty much everyone around the world for whatever reasons...and thats fine. i dont know the truth of the matter any more than you do, because like you say, the media tints it to suit their own agenda, but were there now and the only people in iraq i see who are opposed to us being there and trying to help with that whole mess are those peeps that supported the mass murderer, his high bastardness, saddam. or muslims who see us as the devil anyway. and i dare say the ghosts of the hundreds of thousands of iraqies saddam butchered during his reign. in fact, i bet they are wondering why we didnt come sooner.
I'm pretty much with ghost. I think Saddam was the worst human alive. It makes me wonder why we live in a society, not just AMerica, but worldwide, where we wait for something bad to happen to us, before we act. Saddam was doing EVIL things for a long, long time. I'm not saying that the USA needed to go in guns blazing, but why did the UN sit idly by? Why were thousands murdered without justice? That is what burns me. I don't know if Bush really believed the intel he used to decide on his actions, or if it was an out for him. Don't think we'll ever know. But I don't know if I'd fault him, if he thought, hey this bastard is evil, and here is my chance to save someone's life. IMHO
phoe: that's a good strategy. i'll have to sort it all out for next time.
ghost: I really enjoy getting American perspectives on this. What was that saying... "the greatest good is met with the greatest resistance.." something like that. I do see good in what the US is doing over in Iraq. But there is still so much turmoil over there that I hope the losses are worth it. But I wonder now what sort of justice could be given to make Saddam pay for all the harm he's done to humanity. There doesn't seem to be anything. I oppose killing him. I think he should have some kind of severe "community service" to do in his country somehow, try to make up some of the damage, though no life lost is replaceable. Sigh. It's definitely not just a 2-sided issue.
matherly: I wonder about the UN too... and I don't fault Bush at all for going in there and trying to righten the chaos. To me its starting to feel like as soon as the US withdraws, Iraq is going to be overrun by the suppressive bastards that are making it hell right now.
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