Along my daily commute, the political yard signs blend into one giant buzzword. Barack Obama stands for hope and moving forward. Mitt Romney wants us to believe in freedom, opportunity, America and our future.
Hope, believe, freedom ... these ambiguous words remind me of a creative writing class I took in college with a professor who stressed: Don't use cliches. Don't use words like soul and heart. Be specific because those words are meaningless since they have so many definitions.
Hope, believe and freedom are on the positive end of the fear mongering spectrum, with words like socialism, communism and Muslim on the negative end. You don't know the meaning but the words elicit a response nonetheless from years of apathy and exposure. Obama and Romney, as most politicians, stand up on their soapboxes, granted by the political machine, and babble endlessly without sharing anything specific so there's enough room to argue their words were taken out of context or misinterpreted. Eloquent speeches, practiced answers and witty commentary crafted by well-paid writers deliver enough b.s. to whet our appetites but not enough bulk so we're satisfied. Well, unless, we are mindless sheep.
Yes Obama, I believe in hope and moving forward too. You're just a modern day MLK Jr., aren't you Barry?
Why are we, as Americans, so apathetic and lazy when it comes to politics?
Who are you voting for: Romney or Obama? Tick tock tick tock, November is knock, knock, knocking at your chamber door. What's the reasoning behind your choice? (If you're not voting I ain't got time, or patience, for your dumbass.) Specifically, what in their plan for the next four years gets your motor running? Perhaps it concerns the right to bear arms, health care, religion, womanly issues, the military or economy (i.e. hot topics). Perhaps it concerns the media nonsense you've read or heard. Perhaps you get a bad feeling about one of the candidates. You're voting for Romney because Obama didn't fix your life in four years. You're voting for Obama because Romney is plush and unrelatable.
Do you even know the candidates? Obviously you don't know them like family, friends, coworkers or acquaintances. However, what factual things do you know about them?
This Romney 47% baloney made me sigh. Why are you shocked? What did you think he thought about the poor and lower class? For him to label us entitled was harsh. Yes, some people on welfare aren't deserving because they could acquire a job. Yes, some people on unemployment, welfare and assistance spend a majority of their money on nonsense like Marlboro lights, cases of Budweiser, dragon tattoos, gel-tip manicures and non-essentials. Does this account for everyone? No. How many people does this account for? Do you know the statistics? Can you believe statistics anyway -- what, did hire Magnum P.I. to follow them every single person around for a week?
Mitt Romney's 2011 tax returns were finally released today, as well as a summary of the past 20 years. Makes me wonder why he was holding back. Are we going to find something titillating in there? What made him wait so long? (Although, I'm still waiting for annual tax returns for the past 12 years ... ) If you're a Romney-supporter, he deserved privacy. If you're an Obama-supporter, Romney's trying to avoid criticism over something shady -- unpaid taxes, low tax rate, offshore accounts, vast wealth, etc. Patchouli liberals are leery of the man, especially a man with loads of scratch.
On the other side of the coin, people trash Obama because of the unemployment rate, the government has gotten too big, the economy is still depressed ... or lovely absurdities like he's a Socialist Muslim born in Africa. They have their "Where's the birth certificate?" bumper stickers next to "Drill baby drill!" and "I'll keep my guns, freedom and money, you can keep the change!"
Bumper stickers are another way insecure Americans make it all about them because everyone, EVERYONE, needs to know their opinions because Americans have the freedom of speech. So, we speak any way and anywhere we can.
Maybe it's because this Obama vs. Romney affair feels like it's been burning since the world's been turning, but I am weary. Turn off your televisions and radios, stop reading news on the Internet and in the newspaper and magazines. Take time and research what each candidate stands for from reputable sources and make your decision. Whatever this decision is -- good for you. Just, please oh please people, shut up about it already!
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