A World of Cheese, For your Pleasure

And it happens again and again in the world. Westerners, unable to deal with the issues of today, throw up their hands and give carte blanche to some leader who then makes all the decisions for everyone else. Now I am not saying that George Bush is Emperor Palpatine (at least I could admire him for something if he were), but I am saying that Americans have given up too much to someone that does not care about the people he swore to defend.

My vision of parliament is not at all what the reality is. In parliament, I think that parties should attempt to work together to solve problems and improve life in this country. But politics separates all of us so that things that could potentially get accomplished never do. When I say politics, I essentially mean selfishness. One party would destroy all chances of peace for all (constitutionally, physically, whatever) because it didn't get everything it asked for. To hell with everyone else. Federal elected representatives, in my view, should attempt to work at a high level to solve EVERYONE's problems. Local problems should be dealt with locally. That's why there are provincial and municipal governments.

Vila and Frank posted a very damning indictment of Bush's recent acquittal (essentially) of Scooter Libby. These are the types of things that happen when you let things get away from you. One person that decides everything for everyone and damn those that get crushed under; they probably deserved it anyway. And in today's world this is explained by the fact that more than a stable, just government with adequate social programs and education and so on, more than the liberty they think they have, more than ANYTHING, people want stability. Changing the government when things don't work properly creates instability, makes other countries think that the US isn't so wonderful and just doesn't feel good. It might mean that the citizens have to get involved. Well, fuck that. (Sometimes for good reasons, too.)

Could it just be that the state is too large and that there are too many people to govern, and therefore factions of power with which to contend? Maybe. If I were a politician, I'd be a municipal or possibly provincial politician. Or federal in a country with 5 million people or less.

Westerners are probably just too fat and happy to complain. I think Rosie O'Donnell asked on The View what it takes to get impeached in the US. What indeed? A fucking blowjob, apparently. No one wants their leaders to actually be better than themselves in some way, else how could George Bush charm anyone? He is charming because he's just an idiot like everyone else. Bad idea. This is supposedly the most powerful country in the world. It shouldn't be run by the corrupt, the apathetic, and certainly not by "just anyone". Sure, the person should not be too much of a snob, and should care about his own citizens, but putting people like Bushco in power is like putting the guy that runs the local poutinerie in power. It's not well planned, and the best you can hope for is...nothing.

Which I suppose is better than what is happening now. I'd choose nothing over a lot of what has transpired over the last six years if I were American. Imagine if half the money for the wars (hundreds of billions of dollars) went to health care or higher education or something like that. Imagine where they would be in 20 years. Like any poorer country that chooses the right priorities, this great country would only prosper.

But that is not going to happen. Maybe we need a wake up call. Maybe we are too complacent and all this shit needs to happen. But sitting back and doing nothing will breed more Bushcos, more fear, more complacency. And eventually, Palpatine won't just be a fictional character. I suspect that if that happens, it will be too late.