Pigs on Politics

As you know, with the exception of my rants about No Child Left Behind, I'm not one to talk about politics much. You know I have the thing about thinking I'm offending people or whatever, so I'd rather just not say too much. But today, I think I will because people are annoying me and you know that I do not like to be annoyed.

I think it's pretty darn awesome for our country that we have come far enough to elect a black man to the highest office of power in the country. No matter what your political views are, you should have the common sense to recognize that. I personally did not vote for Obama, but am still excited for his win. Is that totally bizarre? I don't think so. I was somewhere in between the candidates, but voted what fit me best. My guy didn't win, but that's kind of how this game works.

This is the part I don't think people understand. I'm going to try to put it into simple terms for all of the hateful idiots out there who can't get over themselves. You don't get your way all the time. America was founded on the idea of Democracy, which means people get to vote. Everybody gets one vote. If you used yours, good for you! You did your part. On Sesame Street the other day, Elmo and Zoe learned about voting to decide what song they were going to sing. They were torn between Row Row Row Your Boat and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. They took a vote, and guess what? The song with the most votes got to be sung. So we're going to sing Obama for the next four years and you need to suck it up and try to find the good. It is completely counter-productive to argue about it. You can't deny that he's got people excited again. I heard that 14 million more people voted this year than the last Presidential election. That's a whole mess of people.

Another little aspect I'd like to mention is this: Things can't always be one way. That's kind of the point of this country. I think politics swinging back and forth over time is what keeps this country balanced and in the middle. You have to share, people. Other things have to swing too though. For instance, the economy cannot always be grand. What goes up must come down. Free enterprise and capitalism and all that. Let it take care of itself and quit blaming everybody and pointing fingers. Which brings me to my next rambling point.

George Bush did not personally cause all of the problems in the world. In the same vein, if you do not care for Obama, he is also not going to be able to personally do anything either. Flashback to high school civics: there are 3 branches of government and a little thing they call checks and balances. Look into it. And then be quiet. I think the folks that figured all this stuff out back in the 1700s were darn crafty and the system has worked for quite a long time. They were clever, clever little founders. Let's respect the process and be glad we have it and quit whining because your guy lost.

As I mentioned before, my guy lost too, but I'm going to support the new President who won fair and square and not repeat what I've seen from Bush-haters over the last 4-8 years. There's plenty to like about him, mostly that this should be an opportunity to bring the country together, not tear it apart. Which brings me to a gripe.

A vast amount of Obama's votes came from white citizens, particularly young ones. I heard on the radio 62% of his votes were from white people, but I can't find that written anywhere to be sure. I also read in the AJC this morning that black voter turn out was basically unaffected by this election. So why is it that the media - at least in my area - is only showing black celebrations as though he is the President for the Black Folks? This seems so distorted to me because he is so favored by so many people of all colors and genders, why not let people come together on something? Is it just to create hype and get people all grouchy and mean so they have something to talk about on the news? I'd love to hear an answer on this one.

In the meantime, give him the chance to prove himself, let's see what he's got. If you still don't like him in four years, guess what? There will be another election and you can vote again. You might win, you might not. Things might swing again, who knows? You gotta respect the process and quit being so HATEFUL! (Especially on Facebook - you people have got to get a grip.)

This concludes the 2008 message of Pigs on Politics.