Monday, October 6, 2008

Free and fair elections? Give me a break.

I have become considerably distrubed by the amount of spin that the media and corporate politicians have put on the truth. Last night I saw a car sporting a "give peace a chance sticker," paired with a "Obama '08" sticker. The staunch hypocrisy of this bumper sticker couple is a frightening one indeed.
Senator Barak Obama would do anything but give peace a chance if he were elected to office. While I agree with his plan to withdraw troops from Iraq, I don't agree with expanding our bloated military budget to expand war in Afghanistan. That country is in ruins and perpetuators of violence are still at large. The only way to fix our eroding worldwide reputation is to particpate in a cooperative diplomatic case to bring terroists to trial. Senator Obama supports further violence.
The democratic incumbent is also a strong supporter of the death penalty, the patriot act, nuclear energy, the fradulent "war on drugs," immunity for telecom companies participating in illegal surveillance of citizens, the no child left behind act, and the most recent heist of taxpayer money to bail out corrupt wall street corporations. Senator Obam also opposes gay marriage, single-payer healthcare, the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, peaceful negotiations with Iran and is a strong supporter of Israeli apartheid over Palestine.
Why do U.S. citizens feel that Senator Obama will give peace a chance? I think a great deal of this confusion among the citizenry is the two-party system, the corporate-owned media and their lobbyists in congress. Mainstream politicians are governed by the interests of wall street and the political puppets in the white house. Every move is a career one and far from the interests of the American people, who overwhelmingly support withdrawal from the middle east, universal healthcare and a decent education. The media blackout of third-party candidates keeps the citizenry in the dark, making the American public feel like they need to vote for "the lesser of two evils," rather than with their beliefs and values.
There are many political parties that are committed to supporting a living wage, health for all, education for all, peaceful negotiation, ending poverty and bringing an end to genocide, like the current ethnic clensing in Darfur, Sudan. People don't vote for these candidates, because they are repeatedly denied participation in the electoral process. There was plenty of room on stage for the debate between John McCain and Barak Obama, to also include Green Party Candidate Cynthia McKinney, Independent Ralph Nader, and even Libertarian Candidate Bob Barr.
The American people are being fooled by the corporate-owned media, which prevents the United States from having free and fair elections. Please think about this before casting your vote.