utter disillusionment

A coworker and I discussed some politics during lunch today and he expressed his astonishment that the election is even a contest after McCain's running mate selection. For some dumb reason I have the Republican convention on as I sit here at home. Being the Demograt I am it's obviously frustrating to hear the things Rudy Giuliani is spouting off as I sit and type [it's what inspired me to write]. I could easily go on for days about problems with the Republican party and also Rudy Giuliani and that's with an extremely limited knowledge of things.

But what really is driving me right now is the overall political situation these days. Watching one side just go on and on and essentially poke fun and and dis the other side is frankly pathetic and unseemly. It's not what politics should be about...and it simply reinforces that no one is listening...at least no one is listening to anyone who isn't saying exactly what they want to hear.

Parties talk past one another and just do all they can to placate constituencies that are so focused on their views and beliefs that all one can do is appeal to exactly those views and not actually engage in conversation and debate. There is so much wrong in politics, on both sides of the party lines, that it frankly leads to a sense of total and complete disillusionment at times. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone who disagreed with you about an issue and you actually convinced them of something? When was the last time someone convinced you?

What's worse is how people just buy into these overarching and ridiculous statements. Just as an example, Giuliani goes on and on about Obama's lack of experience and then tries to argue how Palin has so much...he of course has to qualify it with "executive" which is at the same time intended to make her sound that much mor eimpressive. But she's served, for a short period of time, as the governor of Alaska...not necessarily the state with the most going on [not intended to be a putdown on the state at all].

Blind allegiances annoy the hell out of me and it often seems they are at an all time high. An inability to hear the views of others and consider them is one of the worst shortcomings one could possess. Life is about compromise, give and take, listening...and I fear there is far too little of it these days.

Well, I'm off to hear what Palin has to say...more propoganda [as that is what politics boils down to these days] I'm sure...