What I think. All two cents.

Someone recently asked me for specifics on why I’m voting for Obama. What I intended to be a relatively quick response turned into something a little longer. And after sending it, Zack encouraged me to post it here.

Dear __________,

Hmm. I got a little carried away . . .so I bucketed each rant/talking point.

A few words on why I’d vote for Obama even if I weren’t “for Obama.”
I guess the first place I would start is my dislike of what I truly believe the last eight years have wrought as a result of a Republican administration. We are more in debt than when Clinton was president, we are at war on two fronts, we are potentially poised for a depression and our international relations is at an all-time low.

Additionally, even if I did not believe in Obama’s policies (which I do) I would choose not to vote before I voted for McCain. From his equivocation on positions, his statements about deregulation, his stance on the war (not to mention his reckless decision-making record), McCain has all appearances of being a more extreme version of George W. Further, even if I believed in McCain’s positions, I would not vote for him because of his running mate. Palin is frighteningly inexperienced for being the running mate to what could be the second-oldest president to be nominated. Inexperienced in foreign policy, in domestic issues, in judicial matters. She is interested in pandering to the extreme religious views of Republican issues, and she is championing a notion that a presidential candidate should be “one of us.” Rather, we should be seeking informed candidates—who we may or may not be able to have a beer with (George W.’s “platform”)—who will intelligently run the country.

But why I like Obama?
The thing that’s consistently struck me about Obama was his apparent genuineness. When he talks about his policies and political issues I get the impression that he has actually done some thinking about them and his not merely giving his version of what he perceives to be the most politically prudent. But, even if I’m wrong about that, I agree with many of his policy stances.

So, specifically, in terms of Obama’s policy.
Iraq
I think one of the biggest issues this election is foreign policy. I believe that we need a president who can help end things in Iraq and bring stability to that region. We are pouring money into Iraq and have been for years, while our own economy has been steadily declining. We’ve made cuts in federal programs because we no longer have the money to fund them. We’re borrowing huge sums of money from China–engendering ourselves to a powerful, but potentially problematic world power.

From the beginning, Obama was against the Iraq war, saying when the vote was passed that it would be “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” As a result, Obama is committed to ending our involvement in Iraq. Additionally, his willingness to meet with world leaders (something even the Republican superhero Reagan was willing to do) will go a long way in helping restore better relations with the rest of the world, which have been seriously harmed as a result of our last eight year’s of foreign policy.

Health Care
The second biggest issue in my opinion is health care. We are one of the few remaining countries who does not provide health care for all of its citizens. And I truly believe that a country that is willing to call itself a “Christian nation” is one that should provide for the widow, the orphan and the “least of these.” We are not doing that. The people who die from treatable diseases is appalling. And the rebuttal is, “How much it will cost?”. Well, despite Palin’s claim that McCain’s plan is cost-free, the Urban Brookings Tax Policy estimates that McCain’s plan, which would only cover 5 million uninsured, would increase the deficit by $1.3 trillion. Obama’s plan would cost just a little more (at 1.6 trillion), but would cover 34 million.

Economy
Obama’s emphasis on tax cuts for middle class and his overall approach is, in my opinion, far more robust than McCain’s. And in light of the current economic issues we are facing—nationally, we are seeing the increased need for oversight and regulation, something Obama and Biden are for. And while McCain is now calling for regulation, he has a long, well-documented history for advocating deregulation (e.g.“I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy.”) of the financial market and even compared his health care program approach of private competition to the success of deregulation in Wall Street.

Energy
I agree with Obama’s energy proposals, but I will admit that this is one area where his equivocation has disappointed me. He was initially against off shore drilling, citing it as a political ploy since it would not lower gas prices for close to 10 years and that it was putting more money into an infrastructure that we are trying to reduce our dependence on. Overall, however, I agree with his call for increased funding for alternative sources of fuel, reducing our dependence on foreign oil (which is connected both to national security issue and foreign policy) and capping gas emissions. His current plan also includes the creation of jobs in tandem with creating cleaner energy.

A word about abortion.
I’ve heard more than a few people from both the “D” and “R” persuasions, explain to me that there’s no way I could be/vote Democrat if one were Christian, specifically because of abortion. I completely disagree. If one who is against abortion self defines as “pro-life”—then it should be all life that they should champion. And current U.S policies are not “pro-life.” We are not pro-life in Iraq. We are not pro-life in regards to our health care. We are not pro-life in our use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” (i.e torture). We were/are not pro-life in our treatment of Katrina victims. We are not pro-life by suspending habeas corpus.

If we’re talking definitions here, which I’m not sure how helpful those really are, I would say I’m “pro-choice, anti-abortion.” I don’t think the answer to abortion lies in legislating away Roe v. Wade. Frankly, I don’t think the Republican party would/could ever overturn Roe v. Wade, and even if they were able, there would still be abortions, illegal ones at that. So, I think making abortion a key pivot issue on whether you vote D or R is distracting and irrelevant.

These are my thoughts, and I welcome discussion.

**UPDATE: So much for intentions. What I intended to be an argument for why I’m voting for Obama has turned into a discussion about abortion. So, I’m adding to my previous comment:

I do believe there should be restrictions on abortion. And I will repeat: I am against abortion. But my point here was NOT to talk about my position on abortion, so much as my position on how Roe v. Wade and other related political legislation fits into one’s political choices. This was not my attempt at an all-inclusive presentation of my full beliefs on abortion. Something that I’m not sure I could even do now or in this forum. I will repeat, though, I do not believe in abortion.

I think my underlying belief in the fact that nothing gets truly done without being done on the micro level informs what I’m trying to express–there are more effective ways to address abortion than by voting R on a ballot every few years.

I knew a family growing up that renovated a portion of their house to make room for pregnant women to live there, providing options for women who had no family or money to turn to in their crisis. I think they were effective.

My personal conviction against abortion is informing my rather pragmatic position of being “pro-choice.” [Again, I’ll also reiterate: I don’t think this definition is helpful or even necessarily accurate, but it’s my way of working within an issue that’s been binary to the exclusion of actually talking about how it pertains to our vote]. Because, while the abortion rate has fallen somewhat in the past few years, the trend line overall has been steadily increasing. And the U.S. still has one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates in the developed world with teen birth rates on the rise.

Which, to me, suggests a bigger problem than legislation can fix.

Resist much.

A slow day at work today afforded me the opportunity to read a bit from Leaves of Grass, which has been on my internal to-read list, if not my goodreads to-read list.

What’s struck me the most so far is this one little poem:

To the States

To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States, Resist
much, obey little,
Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved,
Once fully enslaved, no nation, state, city of this earth, ever
afterward resumes its liberty.

Throughout the surrounding poems in Book I, there is a sense of jubilance at the constant decay of all things [e.g. “Ever the mutable / Ever materials, changing, crumbling, re-cohering”].

Yet this little “To the States,” poem calls for a resistance to entropy: “Resist much, obey little.” I like that line.

There’s potentially a tension between celebrating decay and fighting against it—but the resolution, I think, lies somewhere in the fact that Whitman’s persona desires simply a response. Be it sadness, be it joy, be it celebration, be it resistance—Whitman’s persona wants the reader to participate, to feel—to react.

Perhaps, it’s a fight against passivity. A way of preserving self. And I find that comforting.

They know how to swim, row, ride, wrestle, shoot, run, strike,
retreat, advance, resist, defend themselves,
They are ultimate in their own right—they are calm, clear,
Well-possess’d of themselves.

~ “A Woman Waits for Me.”

On this first day of autumn, 2008.

I watched a few leaves fall, the clouds give way to afternoon sun and a little sparrow take a celebratory bath in a puddle.

“. . . there is a harmony
in autumn, and a lustre in its sky.”

– Percy Bysshe Shellye, “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”

Less of a post, more of a rant.

Since Claw Washout (aka Palin) was nominated to the Republican presidential ticket, I’ve been dismayed—truly dismayed.

Regardless of her political views, regardless of whether I agree with those political views, how could the American public possibly entertain the idea of electing the unprecedented combination the oldest presidential nominee in history, combined with a running mate who has so little and such compromised experience.

How could/can the national conversation be about her glasses, her hair, her red patent peep-toe shoes and lipstick? Instead of about

• uncovering the details of her allegedly personally motivated firing of her Public Safety Commissioner in Alaska

• her near firing of a Wasillia librarian when she wouldn’t commit to potentially ban books in the public library

• why she is currently lying about selling the Alaska jet on eBay

• how she made rape victims pay for their own rape kits

• and, relatedly, how Alaska leads the nation in reported rapes at two and a half times the national average

• why despite the fact that she continues to state that she turned down federal funding for the Bridge to Nowhere, her administration is currently seeking funding for Bridge to Nowhere

• her ignorance of the Bush Doctrine

• an incongruence between her stated stance on earmarks and special-interest spending, while her own record shows asking taxpayers to fund $453 million in earmarks for Alaskan projects

• her complete lack of knowledge about foreign policy—particularly at a point in our country’s history where we need a new, informed approach to foreign policy

Doughnuts: Moral instruction and entertainment.

Zack and I went out for doughnuts and coffee this fine Sunday morning at Top Pot. Here is what happened.

Breakfast.

Zack & Breakfast.

Zack, Coffee & Comics. (Note the doughnut on the fork.)

Zack, shortly before dunking his doughnut into coffee. (Note the evil grin lurking just under the eyes, as I asked him not to dunk said doughnut into my coffee.)

Coffee. (Note the doughnut is now gone from the fork and presumedly in floating globules in my coffee.)

Zack & Coffee. (Note the dumbfounderment.)

Zack gulps. (Note the futile attempt at retrieval.)

Zack fishes. (Note another futile effort.)

Zack in another long line.

Right, yeah. . .

So about Kierkegaard.

yeah.

I can’t stop

listening to these songs.

Horse Feathers – “Curs in the Weeds”

Talkdemonic – “March Movement”

Calexico – “Two Silver Trees”

Otters, impressionists & naked cyclers: A weekend indeed.

If this weekend was an essay, it would get an A+.

On Saturday, Zack and I got up early and went to the Seattle Aquarium, where we oohed and awed over strange fish, cute  seals and even cuter otters. From there, we went to the Seattle Art Museum to see the “Inspiring Impressionism” exhibit. Really engaging. I enjoyed how the exhibit called out the influences by not only comparing motifs, but, in many cases, the actual paintings. You could see the influencing painting and the Impressionist adaptation side-by-side.

Heading back to the apartment, we were about to cross Pike only to be stopped at the curb by a group of about 40-50 naked bicyclists riding through the intersection. Apparently, it was World Naked Bicycle Ride Day.

After the group of nude bicyclers passed, a tourist in front of us turned around and was scanning everyone’s faces, with a look that clearly asked, “Did any of you see what I just saw?” He looked at me with a chagrined smile, “Seattle, huh? Seattle.”

Sunday was also quite nice, sans nude cyclists. We bought our final coffee at the Denny Vivace location (Goodbye bricks). We rambled around Georgetown at the Art & Garden Walk. And then Zack took a reluctant and protesting me to Elliot Bay Books. . . where I then preceded to enact my revenge by staying longer than he wanted and buying three books (The Shock Doctrine, The Autograph Man and The Thin Place).

Hooray for summer weekends that nearly make up for missing the SP 20 Festival.

Summer and Kierkegaard

Every summer—it never fails.

For the past four years, I’ve set-out to spend a summer getting through Søren Kierkegaard’s Works of Love. I’m not completely sure why I’ve associated it with summer. Probably in part because I purchased it on a whim right before a road trip with Jessica, so now it’s forever associated with basking in the heat of the eastern Washington sun along the shore of Lake Chelan.

But while I’ve always started the book nearly each summer since then, I’ve never quite made it through to the end. It’s not that I’ve not been engaged by what I’ve read. It’s just that, somehow, I’ve lacked the stick-to-itiveness necessary for this 384-page tome.

So once again it’s summer and my thoughts turn to as yet still un-read Works of Love. Except this summer, I’m determined,  even hell-bent, to finish the thing.

My resolution begins tomorrow, July 1. I’ll be tracking my progress via blog—more stream-of-consciousness thoughts and musings to come as I aim to truly and finally read Works of Love.

Be it yesterday and/or today: Happy Solstice.

-Edward Robert Hughes, “Midsummer Eve”