I’m going to talk about politics, so here’s fair warning. Anybody who might find political discussion objectionable, click away now. Thank you.
John McCain: “I still believe our fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong.”
I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard this statement. Within a block of our house, two homes have been foreclosed in the last six months. Two houses down, our neighbors are moving away because he lost his job and found a new one in another state. Their house is for rent; they don’t think they can sell it in the current economy.
In a wider view of this city, entire neighborhoods are littered with foreclosure signs. Not bad neighborhoods, either. Neighborhoods with large houses, double and triple car garages, views, and lots of luxury features. Houses that went for $300,000 and up. Statewide, the jobless rate is at a four-year high. Nationwide, the picture is much the same. When a major investment bank like Lehman Brothers collapses, it’s almost inconceivable that anybody could say, with a straight face, that we have a fundamentally strong economy. (Alan Greenspan, by contrast, says this is the worst economy he’s ever seen.)
The economy is a mess. The state of health care is a mess. Schools? Another mess. Soaring gas prices are having a ripple effect, driving up costs across the board. And then there’s the other big issue, global climate change. Maybe you don’t believe it exists. I lived under glaciers that were melting on top of us, causing flooding followed by drought. I saw the shrinking snow pack in the Olympic mountain range. It wasn’t a shock to me when an arctic ice shelf the size of Manhattan broke off. I lived where I could see the changes happening. It exists. People can argue all day long about the cause, but the reality is inescapable. Global climate change is real. Fighting about what’s causing it does nothing to solve the problem. And according to experts, we have one hundred months to act before it’s too late.
What does all this mean? It means that the worst thing in the world is business as usual. It means that change has to happen. It means that we do not need a man in the White House who believes business as usual is a good plan. We don’t need four more years of what we already know isn’t working.
This may well be the most critical election of my lifetime. The outcome of this election will determine how well America weathers the host of challenges facing us. Economically, ecologically, socially, this is a crucial time. The policies implemented over the next four years will have enormous impact, for good or bad.
I’m voting for change. I’m voting for Barack Obama. I urge you to vote whatever way your conscience moves you, but by all means, vote, because your voice matters and must be heard. This is not a time for apathy and cynicism. This is a time to act. Register to vote and on election day, get out there and cast your ballot.
Thank you. We will now return to our regularly scheduled program of lolcats and musing on the writing life.
I like your writing style, but don’t agree with your assertion that McCain is wrong. The basis for our economy is very strong… as long as taxes don’t go up, we’ll pull out of this pretty quick. With Obama taxes are sure to go up.
You have one example of someone leaving for another job. That is good that he found one… not bad. Just because he can’t sell his home, doesn’t mean that he has a problem. I have a home that I can’t sell because of the downturn in the real estate market… so I rent it for the same as my mortgage… that is good.
We are so focused on the negative that we forget that we have gone through worse and pulled through just fine. We aren’t facing a mass energy crisis like the 70s (although, if we don’t start drilling for more oil and natural gas and exploring more realistic energy options, we will). We aren’t facing the problems of the depression. We aren’t facing the high interest rates of the early 80s.
Sure, it may be tough, but there are plenty of businesses that are growing. I started a business 11 months amid a “struggling” economy and have grown month after month and employed 6 other people in the process.
It is also interesting that you comment on Global Climate change. This year is pretty mild, but the last few years were a bit warm. The argument from those that think that we are causing the problem is very weak. The cause and effect relationship of C02 and warmth is weak. The thought that a .3 degree Celsius increase will destroy glaciers is a farce. The fact that the earth isn’t warming… just the northern hemisphere. Ice is growing in the southern hemisphere.
If we would stop being such alarmists and understand that we have it pretty darn good, we would be so much happier. Our world is what we make of it. If you get laid off, go find another job. There are plenty out there.
You are voting for Barack Obama. If you can give me one concrete example of how he has affected change that proves he can do what he promises, I might consider voting for him. So far, I haven’t heard that he has any lick of experience that will allow him to do what he says… not one shred.
Like you, I’m ready for a change. Vote. Vote. Vote.
Clapping. Totally agree. Don’t know if you read Karen Scott’s blog, but she had a great conversation going there yesterday about Sarah Palin. You should check it out.
Sorry, but I’m with the first commenter, Corey. To me, Barak is the Manchurian Candidate. What do we really know about this guy? Frankly, I worry about his radical leanings. I’m more a middle-of-the-road kind of person.
A native NY’er, I’m economically conservative and socially liberal yet I can really identify with Sarah Palin and have great respect for John McCain. I normally don’t talk politics in “public” but since you invited comment I thought I’d chime in. I like your books, but I am disappointed in your choice in this election.
I say vote for the man we actually know – not the one whose entire persona is based on a speech and a couple of autobiographical books. (That’s funny coming from an author, but there it is. LOL.)
I’m voting for McCain.
I hope you’ll do some research and find out more about the man you perceive Barak to be. Perhaps then you’ll reconsider.
We’re all entitled to our opinions. And whatever they are, I do think it’s important we stand by them at the ballot box.
>>And whatever they are, I do think it’s important we stand by them at the ballot box.
AMEN!
I wish Palin didn’t scare me so bad, but she really does. 🙁
Jordan, I think Matt Damon’s remarks sum it up well.