It’s election time here in the United States — time for the endless barrage of political commercials that saturate the television airwaves. Is this any way to inform the public on where our potential leaders stand on the issues? The election campaigns seem to depend more on marketing experts than policy experts. Instead of hearing about the real issues, we get mudslinging.
Forty years ago this past Friday, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System to “…secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.”
I was driving to work today listening to my latest CD purchase, The Very Best of Jackson Browne, when the song “Lives In The Balance” came on. Jackson Browne was inspired to write that song by the political events of the Iran-Contra scandal in the mid 1980′s. As I listened to the lyrics I was struck by how a song written 18 years ago was so appropriate for today. In particular, the final verse is especially relevant for 2004.
I’ve been conflicted about President Bush’s proposal for establishing a base on the moon and a manned mission to Mars. My first reaction is I feel space exploration is something we should be doing. We humans can learn a lot from exploring the universe around us. The more we learn, the better off we will be. Just think of all the technological innovations we use everyday, which evolved from the work NASA did in the 1960s. I also feel that someday humans will be living on other worlds and in space. Perhaps that’s the best insurance for the disastrous asteroid strike that scientists say will inevitably occur on our planet.
Complaints about taxes have certainly been a strong fixture in the news lately. After opening up my property tax bill (which arrived in the mail the other day) I thought I’m really getting a lot for my money. Parks, recreational trails, library services, fire protection, police protection, refuse pickup… the list goes on and on. I would much rather pay to have those services and facilities available to me than to live somewhere without them. What would it be like to live in an area without libraries, without a good park system, not to mention fire and police protection? Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”
I for one would rather live in a civilized society than have a little more money in my pocket.
Our nation is battling terrorism and violence overseas, the deficit is growing exponentially, unemployment continues in this stagnating economy and what are our lawmakers working on? A bill that would replace the face of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the dime with Ronald Reagan.
Don’t they have anything better to do?
I don’t understand the conservatives need to push Reagan up to iconic status — not to mention the fact that the man is still alive. If they must use Reagan’s likeness on a coin, considering his administration’s trickle-down economic policies, putting it on a penny seems more appropriate to me.
Who would have thought that I have something in common with Gandi, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela? According to the quiz I took at Political Compass, our political views all fall into the libertarian left category.
I’m sure my mother will be proud to learn that I also seem to be the exact political opposite of our current President (who is listed as authoritarian right). Come to think of it, I’m a little proud myself.
