And now the time is upon us once again, when we must act with humility and daring merely by exercising our right to vote and have that vote be counted. For, the election of a president is a ritual which requires the greatest care and consideration. It is not only the embodiment of America's greatest promise, it is a choice whether to be lead by our highest aspirations or our basest instincts. It is, for our country, life or death.
But the cynical clothes-lining of real issues by McCain and Miss Half-Baked Alaska (or more accurately, their handlers, as the candidates themselves possess qualities which would define them less as actual leaders and more as ventriloquist dummies) concerning the recovery of this country's soul is nothing short of treason.
BushCo's shameful pursuit of profiteering and deception is akin to the hijacking of a planeful of innocents. The purposeful distraction of the people from the truthful and accountable management of the country's affairs both domestic and foreign is akin to a car bomb obliterating a morning in Oklahoma City. And the deriding of an Obama presidency and the pimping of McCain's heroism to perpetuate the most dangerous assault on our country's liberties is akin to an assassin's bullet aimed straight at the nation's heart.
Treason.
Big, scary word, but apt. The last 8 years of Republican rule, combined with a decidedly nefarious capitalisto-fascist approach to governance plus the lengthy list of ethical offenses and corporate pandering leaves no other possible categorization. All the evidence is there, all the motive. And the sick joke being played on those true believers, the hockey moms and basement patriots is: it's not Republicanism. It's not Conservatism. It's certainly not love of country.
So why, despite the clear desperation of the McCain campaign, pursuing the presidency with all the grace of a rabid junk-yard dog, are ordinary people still lining up behind these kamikaze quasi-patriots, these disinformation-disseminating dead-enders? Why, even though anyone who would at this point support McCain and what amounts to the thoughtless continuation of Bush's pernicious policies is no more or less aiding and abetting in the sacking of America? Day by day, moment by moment, the colossal sting operation launched by the Cheney neo-cons still strip-mines the nation's credibility and reduces its promise to pulp. Where is the outrage? Is it a continental case of Stockholm Syndrome? Invasion of the Democracy Snatchers?
Does it even matter anymore? Because the time is upon us once again. Vote and make damn sure it's counted. It's come down to that.