Monday Rant: Why I'm Reregistering

“Mitt Romney said today that he learned something. There are things that money can't buy — like Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri.” – Jay Leno

“But he is not quitting. Romney says he will keep fighting. And you can take that all the way to the Swiss bank.” – Jay Leno

"Tinfoil hats have become a common, if not mandatory, G.O.P. fashion accessory." - Paul Krugman

Lately, I have been burning out a lot, getting tired of looking for tidbits in the news to comment on. I spend a day watching Youtube videos, listening to music, and zoning out watching the television. I have watched more television during the past few years than any other time in my life, and I wonder if its because I'm getting bored with old age, or severely depressed. I joined the Republican Party after my mother died, in tribute to her, but the Republicans I see these days are just an insane bunch...

When I was a kid, it seemed the two parties were more polite towards each other. Sure, I was taunted in the fifth grade because my parents supported Richard Nixon, literally chased on the playground by older boys, though it might not all have been as a result of their political views... I learned to cuss at an early age and called many kids a stupid f**k to their faces, and got beat up a lot... As I got older, I was drawn towards philosophies that engaged in meditation, and tried to develop more sense of compassion towards my fellow human beings, and often took more delight in people on the fringe of society than the ones trying to make it in the mainstream world. spent 26 years in jobs where I dealt with the public, and it killed a lot of the compassion. Instead of meditating, I played poker and smoked cigars, tried to control people's anti-social behavior because riding on a bus called for everyone to be polite towards each other. I dealt with drunk people, stoned people, people coming down with Alzheimer's, people who were lost, depressed, having psychotic episodes, and people who forgot to take their medication. I've been in the middle of earthquakes, floods, gang fights, police actions, and many other dangerous situations, and had to focus on keeping other people calm enough to deal with the situation at hand.

 I retired with a disabled retirement, and have had to deal with constant pain and how it distorts how I look at things. It also has shown me many more people who are in more pain than I am, which has reawakened that sense of compassion... Out of a sense for self-preservation, I learned tai chi and the meditations that come with the practice, a renewed respect for my fellow man. Unfortunately, I moved to Colorado Springs, where the small mindedness of retired military has dominated the political life. I've always respected anyone who is willing to sacrifice his life for others, but the culture of obeying orders without asking questions is a bad form of operant conditioning, and creates people who seldom have curiosity or engage in self-introspection. You get a little crazy in your old age, but coupled with this type of culture, it produces outright insanity. The Libertarian Party started here, and my county is one of the most consistently conservative in the country. Now it's one of the consistently extreme right wing voting blocks in the state, and we tend towards the insane public outbursts that I used to confront and try to control for the public's safety when I worked for the bus company and school districts... At times I find this insane behavior entertaining, but deep down it scares me because it touches something dark and violent in our souls, showing no compassion at all for the human condition. The political stage is changing into a battlefield for cultural wars and I don't want this dark side to win, I find it appalling, the kinds of behavior that people like Mitch McConnell and Newt Gingrich engage in.

So, I try to make fun of it because I've always had a sardonic sense of humor, sometimes with some success, sometimes not. I dream at night of being able to affect world events even though I know I have no influence, and my blog is read by not so many people. But, as I hook myself up to my oxygen generator, stick the hose in my nose, I pray for the forces of good and light to prevail over this blanket of darkness. I pray that our next generations will not spawn crazy politicians and pundits like Michele Bachmann, Jan Brewer, Michelle Malkin, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Medved, and Michael Savage... People don't like more moderate ones like Mit Romney because of the lies he constantly tells; he's not very good at it and people can easily tell when he's being insincere. Even if he wins all of the remaining primaries and becomes a candidate, he won't win because Barack Obama is smarter, more compassionate and sincere, tells jokes better and sings better. All Obama has to do to win, is get rid of Biden and replace him with Al Green, then they do a few duets at the debates and at campaign speeches. How cool would that be...

Since the GOP won't be changing within my lifetime, it looks like I'm going to have to reregister as an Independent. If I lived in another country, I know that their conservative extremists are more intractable and more violent than even the most rabid tea partyer, so cold Colorado is probably where I'll draw my last breath... I'll try not to rant for awhile, and keep this blog more amusing. Stay thirsty, my friends...