10/22/2004 08:21:00 AM|||Joe|||Bleh. How embarassing.

I wish people would show some restraint. Don't lunatics like this just make you proud:
KEEP YOUR F&*#IN' LIMEY HANDS OFF OUR ELECTION. HEY, S&$*HEADS, REMEMBER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR? REMEMBER THE WAR OF 1812? WE DIDN'T WANT YOU, OR YOUR POLITICS HERE, THAT'S WHY WE KICKED YOUR ASSES OUT. FOR THE 47% OF YOU WHO DON'T WANT PRESIDENT BUSH, I SAY THIS ... TOUGH S&#$!
PROUD AMERICAN VOTING FOR BUSH!
Censored by me.

Ugh. I'm starting to understand politics a little more now. I know now why there's a distinction between, say, politics and political theory or philosophy.

Political theory and philosophy are really about making life better for people. We may argue about the positives and negatives of democracy and communism, but the point is that both are justified in terms of how they purport to benefit the human condition. Philosophy, at its core, is really about living a good life.

Politics is the practice of influence and coercion and the acquisition of power. It is, by itself, amoral. It is really just a method. Without the basics of philosophy — introspection, contemplation, argumentation, critical analysis and a desire for the good — it only serves the interests of a few.

So some people, like our vulgar friend quoted above, are the product of amoral (possibly immoral) political manipulation. That's not to say that I am not shaped by political manipulation in any way, but at least I strive for something close to objective understanding of things.

The only reason I concern myself with politics at all is because our two political parties can so easily ruin our way of life. Or rather, the crazy, irrational yet influential members of both parties can ruin our way of life. We wouldn't be the first great nation to fall prey to rampant nationalism and the wholesale destruction of civil rights.

This can happen and is happening. I just hope that pendulum starts swinging the other way and we all realize what morons we've been. Ugh.

I'm not saying that it'll be the end of the world if Bush is elected. Not at all. I think that Bush and Kerry would perform their duties pretty much the same (oh, there will be some differences, but they're both pretty conservative). What I am saying is that we need to limit the power and influence of people like Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Cheney, and so on. That crew is just nuts. They're totally out of touch with not just Americans but with the very idea of America.

And no matter what anyone does, half the population will likely vote for Bush. Ugh.|||109845860972953225|||Rude Americans