Sagittarius
Iam actually wondering if the conventions, or perhaps even the parties themselves, have outlived their shelf lives. That is, if they were ever fit for human consumption.
Generally speaking, the conventions are meaningless affairs.
Once the place of back room deals to decide on candidates, they are now media circuses. In fact, they are much worse than media circuses. They are highly scripted political telenovelas that use patriotism, religion, and heartstrings to rev up a populace that seems to care little for real issues or real change. You will learn nothing about a candidates' policies or plans at the convention. Everyone who hits the stage or the airwaves has been well schooled to only speak in 'sound bite'.
But, isn't this what politics have become in the United States?
We have a wealthy few who are in charge of this country. They pay hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to be elected to a position that will never cover their costs. And, then, they use their power and influence to ensure that the interests of the rich and powerful are well represented. It doesn't matter which party you are talking about. Both of them are a single party. They are a party of the wealthy who are differentiated by stands on hot button issues, such as gay marriage and abortion.
Now, I am not trying to trivialize gay marriage or abortion, but we keep fighting the same battle that was already resolved in our Constitution a couple of centuries ago.
COMMENTS (1)
RATE THIS STORY
Nude photos of the MTV reality star surfaced on the...
Through my humanitarian work in Central Africa, I learned that refugee children from...
Comments
Re: Am I A Dark Cloud, Or Are Conventions A Waste Of Time?
By SmartCookie, September 12, 2008 at 05:10Kevin,
I'm practically speechless after reading your article. You're banging on almost all cyllinders with me! I am new here at Orato.com after being invited to write about my experiences at the RNC convention in St. Paul. I usually write for a couple other websites, including my own at SelfEvidentTruths.ORG. My husband (a firm independent!) and I write there about who we are and why we're voting the way we are, understanding that certainly not everyone will agree with us. (That's a good thing, I believe!) Sheesh, he and I don't even agree with each other all the time!
Seriously, I wanted to pull a quote from your article to highlight why I agree with you so strongly, but literally there were too many! You're so right to point out that our Constitution grants NO power to political parties, yet we are constantly left in this stupid school yard fight about things that are so divisive they cause many many voters to ignore all other merits of the candidates. Corporate media influence is blatantly biased. After meeting and encountering so many in the mainstream media while in St. Paul, I can confirm for you that the bias is blatant and deep. Catch some of NBC's staff (just for instance - trust me, I could use almost every member of the press who I met as an example!) in a bar when they don't know there is 'another opinion' in there, well it's truly enlightening and nauseating! Open hostility, ridicule, and disrespect for anything a Republican says, even if it makes sense. On the other side of corporate messaging, we have mostly neo-conservatives and religious right-wingers. Neither of those statements makes me comfortable.
We The People are responsible for our government, not the other way around. We certainly have let ourselves (and the world) down by letting the media and other well-funded special interests do 'our' thinking for us!
And I agree with you in large measure about the conventions. However, as a fortunate guest of the RNC convention, I must tell you my honest impression that the People there ... well, anything but stereotypical! I was shocked, to be honest! I expected a lot of group-think and stereotypical Republican garbage. What I found instead was a LOT of people just like me! First of all, on the issue of abortion, MOST people I met there are pro-choice like me! (I KNOW!) Even those who said they were pro-life actually were most strongly opposed to PBA (as are most people in general) and they were willing to leave the decision up to the will of the People.
Ok, I could go on and on, and you're right, a lot of these issues are really all but irrelevant in a presidential election (especially if the candidate who prevails follows the Constitution!), but I was astonished at the diversity and friendliness I found among Reps, Dems and indies I met at the convention! I hope someone who attended the DNC convention might share their experiences, because I believe much of it will be the same. I believe that Americans are mostly decent self-thinking people, despite what the mainstream media protrays. And despite the shortsighted platforms of both parties.
Personally, I hope you vote and I hope that your vote is for one of the two front-running Senators. Obviously, I hope you decide on McCain/Palin, but I'm glad to know that whoever does receive your vote, you'll be basing your decision on your clear perspective of doing what's best for America ... and you certainly don't need any help from me!
Good luck whichever way you decide! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts here! I could talk to you for hours ... lol ... must stop typing now ... rip it off like a bandaid! ;-)