Kos, and Surviving the Election Holocaust

I realize that the people over at Kos aren't supposed to run around saying sane things. That would be absurd, and frankly there's no room in the world for that. But I will say that this entry is particularly stunning for it's depth.

It's perhaps the single most hyperactive "gotcha" moment I've ever read. Coming from Kos it's not surprising to see the term "unhinged" redefined, but when I spend my time alone, at the back of the Student Union with my own mocha, hunching over it and cursing under my breath about assheaded partisan politics, its exactly that sort of thing that I'm probably cursing about. If it's not that, then it's my lack of central heating, and I may at any given moment be arguing with myself about which I hate more.

The point is that this sort of thing is exactly why I don't really fully engage in election politics. On both sides, they're the political equivalent of that one guy who doses up on speed when everyone else is out for a decent night of drinking: people want to get into it, but they just don't want their hearts to race and they'd like to maintain control over the volume and pace of their speech.

Or at least, I would. And I'm really genuinely bad at it when something sets me off, and those things multiply by several thousand when you start dealing in election politics. They redefine partisanship in ways that would make God and Satan give eachother sideways glances.

At this point in the debate (as in all points of it, actually), there is no gray area. You're a Nazi or a Jew, a Slaver or a Liberator, The Colonel or a Chicken, Autobot or Decepticon. And for most people, the only thing that matters is who can come up with the most obscene attack on the other's character, true or not, because the public generally doesn't care if you correct it. Obama is a muslim, and Palin charges for rape kits.

Now make an educated choice in this environment. You can't. There's so much static that if you participate in that level of debate, you won't hear anything useful because nobody's broadcasting anything useful. You'll be making choices based on voices you think you heard in the midst of white noise.

I can't wait til the election is over, no matter who wins. The last seven years have so badly divided the public that it is a real difficulty to speak with people who disagree with you in any kind of rational, respectful manner. Jefferson would agree with me that this is a horribly destructive state of affairs. You're supposed to be able to talk with your neighbors. You're supposed to be able to speak to eachother to mutually see what each party needs and wants and more than that, to realize that your opponents aren't roving packs of Sharpteeth from The Land Before Time.

They're people. They want, ultimately, all the things you want: peace, security, stability, freedom. The disagreement is only about what to do to get those things. But we will not have that sort of realization on any meaningful scale in this environment.