While America Watches the Grammys...

I've been thinking. I've been reading the news. I've been paying attention. I think it's time this nation did something different. The internet is a powerful tool, and powerful people are trying hard to control it. The by now traditional forms of media are becoming propaganda engines. Fox "News" has a death grip on it's audience. Ads on radio and all TV stations spew mindless crap about products and candidates for political office flood the airwaves with attack ads. I say enough is enough. I will vote for the man or woman with the most solid understanding of leadership. I will vote for the man or woman who takes no money from large companies and spends no money on self promotion. I will vote for the man or woman who rises up from obscurity to gain the support of the internet. I will vote for the person who understands the intent of the constitution and the need for sensible regulations. I will vote for the person best able to protect small businesses and individuals from power hungry factions.

I don't know if the information I have is accurate. I've learned that very few sources are trustworthy these days. I do know that there are a lot of people out there accusing each other of lying about all sorts of things. I've seen people pretending to use cold hard logic to support flimsy ideals to the point of absurdity. This nation is the butt of jokes the whole world over, but people only snicker behind our backs because they are afraid of us. This country is strong, it always has been. But we are no longer the matter-of-fact sincere little children with big guns that we used to be. This country is coming into it's adolescence, and it's kicking and screaming and looking for someone to hurt. Those of us who have had or known people who have had violent teenage years know how it works. They also know that most people tend to settle down after the rebellion has run it's course. The trouble is that a nation is much more dangerous than a person. We have factions built up around many fictitious lines, and they are doing battle in every way they know how. But even as we tear ourselves apart searching for our lost national identity, we lash out at other nations. Certain factions among us have pursued laws that favor them so exclusively that all others would die. Sometimes we catch them at it and shut them down, other times I'm sure we've missed the chance. This nation is severely lacking in solidarity. This nation needs a leader that people can respect even if they disagree. This nation needs a leader the people can trust to do what s/he believes is right regardless of who screams about it. You can't please everyone, certainly, but you can't please yourself, either.

I checked the most popular topics being searched on google right now, and I discovered that it's the Grammys. I don't give a flying flip about the Grammys but it must be fairly important. After all, celebrities don't become celebrities for no reason. They have the most exposure to the public. They create the illusion that anyone can know them, any one can understand them, anyone can talk to them if they meet on the street. Most of us know that's not true, but many of us like to preserve the illusion anyway. It's fun. It helps us ignore our own troubles. It helps us imagine a better life, even if it takes away our drive to work for it. Whitney Houston died recently. I've never heard of her before. I may have heard some of her music, but I'd have never known she was famous if I hadn't been told. I get the impression that a lot of people started caring as soon as they heard about her death. People who'd never heard of her before apparently rushed to buy her music, as if it were somehow worth more now that there isn't going to be anything new.

In order to be sure to put someone in office that will be the best for the country and not sell out to special interest groups, we have to make corporate support taboo. We have seen what corporate money can do in the SOPA/PIPA bills. We have also seen the power of the people relative to those same bills. The problem is that it is very difficult to be perfectly vigilant. Legislation can easily sneak through congress without the people being aware of it. The best way to stop such things is to create an atmosphere of disapproval for the types of behaviors that lead to such dishonest legislation. This country is supposed to be by the people, for the people... but we've been left out of the loop. We can take control of the country again the same way that religious organizations gain control over people.

For the record, Religion is a cultural phenomenon that has placed taboos on all sorts of activities. It's true that many people break these taboos from time to time, and that some people break them very often. Some people understand that some of the taboos are silly, and choose to ignore them in the face of ridicule and violence. Simply because enough people have decided that there is something inherently "sinful" about something, we have laws in place to discourage that thing. Thus, it becomes a very simple marketing plan: take something that is currently pissing people off, like corporate money in politics. Demonize the hell out of using it and anyone who uses it. Then show them an alternative, something we can call "clean", such as a grassroots candidate with no party affiliation that agrees with the majority of the citizens on points that are tearing up the regular candidates. For example, Republicans are rabid about gun laws, Dems are largely quiet about them just now, so our ideal candidate supports the right to bear arms. The candidate will be totally in charge of what media coverage they get (by making their own videos). By taking a stand with people on the more basic issues and generally making an effort not to piss people off on the complex ones, people will begin to support the candidate more willingly instead of choosing the lesser of two evils. As long as people understand that this unregistered internet candidate is serious, s/he will get votes. I could organize the whole thing, but not without some help and a little time to work on it.

Recent political events have opened people's eyes to new issues. If I send a big enough wave through the internet, people will pay attention to it. But I can't do it alone. I happen to know that most of my friends are partial to cold logical arguments. Well, politics is neither cold nor logical. If we want to be sure of electing someone we know to be a good leader, we need to use every weapon in our arsenal. You understand the ideal I would strive for, I understand that my ideal will be re-envisioned and the details will get out of hand quickly. I'm not looking to change the world, or even change this coming election. All I want is to plant the seed and water it.

I support Anonymous. They're getting a lot of attention. That's also why I'm posting publicly to people I know. I'm learning through watching the moves of Anonymous and various other movements just how ideas begin to take hold. It usually starts with strong feelings, but only goes places if people speak up about them. I know a lot of my friends have strong feelings, but don't often speak up. I'm loving the South Dakota Skeptical Society, but it's not as well populated as it could be. I notice some rather scathing posts about things from time to time, but they're mostly just complaints and have no action plan attached. Right now, I'm just encouraging those of us who have plans for our lives other than becoming celebritous political figures (yes, I made up that word) to speak up and make suggestions with the hope that those suggestions will reach the ears of a sympathetic party in a position to act. Speaking up is a very powerful action, even without any other action. If enough of us get behind one idea, no matter if it's fully worked out or truly possible, if at least some of our visions become reality, then we will have made a difference. We can make that difference without sacrificing ourselves to the cause, and that's the message I most want to get out. So maybe you don't like this particular idea. That's ok. It's a huge philosophical problem to understand the various implications. I've realized lately that, philosophical objections aside, if an idea can be considered even a marginal improvement on something, it's pretty useless to discuss how it doesn't actually help anything. If we spend all our time shooting down marginal improvements simply because they are difficult to achieve or don't achieve enough, then we'll never improve anything. That said, next time you have an idea about how to improve something, shout it out there, don't keep it to yourself. Nothing ever gets better if nobody tries to fix it.