Midterm elections

Time for another installment of "Guest Blog." One of my dearest friends, Crissy Delaney, never writes about politics, just like me. But we both did within hours of each other. Crissy's entry touches on the same themes as my last blog, except far more "poet's lament" than "curmudgeon's rant."

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I am not in the habit of writing blogs that have correct punctuation, grammatical structure, or a coherent political point. Today, simply because it is the day after the midterm elections, will be an exception.

In my humble opinion this election was run extremely poorly. Neither side seemed to offer any coherent platform of ideas or general principles on which it would model its ensuing policies. Instead, there was petty back-and-forth name calling and shaming. Has our political system been reduced to a he-said-she-said argument? I ache for an election of ideas. We desperately need policies based on facts, truthful assessments, critical thinking, moderation, and creativity.
Our country is at a very precarious stage and needs clarity of purpose.

The lack of a coherent platform led the Democrats to a negative victory. Negative in the sense that it was clear most people voted against the Republicans and against Bush, not necessarily for the Democrats. This in no way provides the Democrats with any type of moral, political, or intellectual mandate. They struggle to make sense of their own party and carry the critical issues (war, education, the scope of presidential prerogative, the treatment of prisoners, international relations, security, the economy, the competence of the judiciary, the list goes on and on…) into the unknown.

I have grown weary of this nation without purpose. It is as if every political and social issue is decided on an ad hoc basis, without recourse to any fundamental principles or values that the nation can generally agree on. The United States seems to be in a severe identity crisis. With each new issue there is a new battle for the meaning of the country itself.

As I sit here, disagreeing with many of my peers on current events and politics in general, I am wondering what it truly means to be from the United States. When discussing minority rights today a professor of mine quoted a scholar who said (paraphrased) that the only thing common among women of the world is that some of them, at some point in their lives, may give birth to a child.

Does our nationality unite us more than that? Is being "American" just saying that some of us, at some point in our lives, have lived on United States soil?

Is there nothing more we can build upon?

I look to the Constitution, I look to the Declaration of Independence, I look to the Federalist Papers, I look to the engraving on the Statue of Liberty, I look to the Civil War, I look to the writings of the Civil Rights Movement, I look to Beat Poetry, I look to decades of photojournalism, I look to American art, I look to the atomic bomb, I look to our movies and our songs, I look to our literature, I look to the history books, I look to the NY Times, I look I look I look I look I look

in search of a purpose to unite.

This election has tarnished the quality of our democratic system. It was fought as if it were a team sport…cheerleaders, drunks, overzealous fans and all. I await, in hopeful anticipation, change.

"America the plum blossoms are falling."- (Allen Ginsberg)