Driving Votes: Brandon's Blog - Archived Entry

First of all, I want to say hello and thank you to the growing nation of people who are getting off their hands and making a difference.

Secondly, if you have not seen it yet, watch the Black Bush sketch which aired on Chappelle's Show recently. Not only was this an extremely funny performance, it was one of the most succinct and coherent readings of Bush's Iraq campaign. You do not have to accept the accusations as truth-that Bush went to war on the basis of personal vendettas and the interests of crony capitalists. But, you must admit how easy it is to create a coherent story from these suspicions. It is easy because of the growing divide between us-the American people-and our elected commander and chief. We cannot be sure what reasons he had for his war. He has changed the publicly shared reasons at least three times and his advisors admit that the real reasons are too complicated to be shared widely. The trade off is supposed to be safety and prosperity. As if the administration is saying: "We'll run the country. Ya'll don't worry. Just keep going to work and don't ask too many questions." Meanwhile, the minutes of meetings are classified, legislation is passed without being debated, and those who question are called traitors.

But to me, this war is not the most important reason to vote. For me, this war seems to be the ultimate ruse. Behind it lies countless questions about the kind of world we want to create for ourselves. Are we to believe that all vestiges of tyranny were dashed at the flick of a quill pen back in 1776. Is it not more probable that people continue to falter-that power continues to corrupt. Is that not why our form of government was adopted-as a persistent check against an ever-present danger. And it has worked. Voting and other mechanisms of democracy have helped to end slavery, to grant suffrage, and to counter discrimination of many kinds.

That is what this war debate glosses over. Bush would have us believe that terrorist want what we have-freedom and democracy. As if we own freedom and democracy. Democracy is a process, not a condition. We cannot buy it or sell it. We cannot bomb anyone into adopting it. It can only be acted out in the form of personal choice and responsablity. The very personal choices that this administration seeks to limit in the interest of 'national security.' That is what this election is about. It is about so many personal choices and so many people taking responsablity for their world.