A Manifesto

The Anchoress has put up her manifesto about the 2008 Presidential elections - and you know what - she's right. This in-your-face, all election all the time nonsense is completely out of hand. I really don't dwell on it, myself. Only a post here and there - at least I hope I don't! But this is saying what should be said to the pols: too much, too soon. We don't need an endless campaign. Hell - we don't want an endless campaign.

I’m not participating in this, yet. I’m not going to allow myself to be suckered into paying attention to these people - and giving them either my money or my time - before I deem it practical and intelligent to do so, and that will be sometime around November of ‘07.

Yes. I am giving myself (gasp!) a whole year off from being caught up in the fakery and frummery of modern electoral politics. The press can make all the noise it wants and declare “winners” and “losers” over and over again, week by interminable week, for the next 18+ months, but that doesn’t mean I have to listen. If we allow the pols and the press to maintain the “endless campaign” mentality, we’re all going to be utterly burned out (and tuning out) at the time when we most should be keyed in and observant.

So, you’ll excuse me if I don’t get worked up over every poll and every pronouncement. I think it’s bad for the nation, bad for our mental and our civic health, to be in a continual campaign-mode, and I’m not going to simply jump in because I’m expected to, or because everyone else is. And don’t tell me I “must” clue in now, or “it will affect the primaries!” Primaries, schmiaries. I’m not going to go along with this trend. It is abhorrent to me. I believe it will have the effect of exhausting the populace, leaving them benumbed and bereft of constructive ideas or critical questions. And maybe that’s the whole point of creating this long, long campaign season - to dull our senses and move us along like cattle.

Ah, yes. The treating of the electorate like cattle. Nothing really new there - sadly it has been practiced for years. I live in hope that some of the folks who have decided to try that stunt will get a rude surprise on election day. Many others have in the past. The voters are not anywhere near as stupid as a lot of politicians - from either party - have assumed in the past. I won't take the year off as Anchoress is planning. But I sure won't try to buy into all the frenzy, either. I'll comment when I feel like it, won't say a word when I don't. In other words, pretty much business as usual around the Crabitat. (Which has the side benefit of driving some folks nuts. They get all kinds of het up when I haven't posted about whatever hobbyhorse they deem the biggest thing since sliced bread.)