While Republicans Sell Theirs...
<>
You know, I realized something amazing on election Tuesday. I thought we should have had our Presidential candidates on a game show, where we all call in, at $1.99 a minute, and vote for our favorite white man. There could have been a scoreboard, with such topics as:
"Smear Your Opponent, While Deflecting the Issue with Sardonic Wit"
"Screw the Environment with a recycled Prophylactic"
"I'm a pro-life Catholic, buuuuut....." OR "I'm pro-life - until your sons and daughters turn 18..."
"I'm all about helping the poor, as long as I get to make thousands of dollars doing it"
"I'm owned by [name a major media company]"
We could have some well-dressed, sexy young adult providing commentary, and we can break the monotany of the election with a hundred advertisements for viagra, Monday-night football, new SUV's, credit cards, and tampons. At the end of the show, we can find out a clear winner, and then watch the loser walk off into the Tuesday evening rain while some post-producer puts little 'bubbles' of sarcastic wit over the the loser's shoulder - like one of those stupid dating shows. Then follow up the showdown with sports commentators giving a play-by-play review, while making more jokes, and talking about what each politician did right and wrong.
Okay, so I'm in a sarcastic mood, but can you blame me? Here's what the real politican should have, and feel free to correct me where you think I'm wrong:
Be homeless, for at least a short amount of time.
Live in a BAD neighborhood, and watch somebody get killed in front of a 7-11.
Have a family member who has been through a major drug addiction.
Have a close relative who was persecuted because he or she was gay.
Get your girlfriend pregnant before you get married, or be a woman who gets pregnant by your boyfriend.
Watch your friends go through agony after having a child aborted.
Spend some time attending synagogues, catholic churches, protestant churches, islamic services, Mormon temples, wiccan ceremonies, etc...
Work for the park service or for an environmental education service.
Work for a school or college.
Lose family members to alcoholism.
Donate time to Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, the Soup Kitchen, or a public service that provides community-lifting services.
Become a Veteran of the Armed Forces, social community services, Peace Corps, or civil agencies (police, firefighters, EMT, etc..)
Lose friends to murder, suicide, and/or drunk drivers.
Watch loved ones die from cancer or AIDS.
Be forced to walk to three different jobs, and eat Ramen noodles for a couple of months in order to pay rent.
Be successful despite the odds.
Belive in Children.
Take care of our elderly.
Avoid violence.
Make up for other's mistakes, and don't complain about it.
Listen to those who talk to you.
Educate yourself.
You see, I don't think I'm anything special, but those are my experiences. You may or may not share these experiences, but I'm acutely aware that I'm simultaneously 1) not alone, and 2) not aware of everthing. I'm not politician material, but I do know what it's like to suffer, starve, triumph, and believe. I know how to take care of my neighbors, whether or not they have money, whether or not they are gay white women, or black Baptist ministers, or Hispanic hard-line rich republicans. There is no standard, no category, except for one that deals in the language of humanity.
There is no democrat or republican if you are a humanist. If you believe in life, then you want your neighbors to be successful, to be free of drugs, to want to raise and nurture their children, friends, and family, to put their time and money back into the environment that gave everything to them. You want your neighbors to be faithful to Allah, to God, to Jehovah, to Mother Earth, to themselves. You never want to take faith or hope away when it is for a peaceful cause. You never want to tell a gay person they are wrong, tell a child they aren't wanted, or tell a human being of a particular race that they don't belong here.
There should be a new party. The Humanist Party. And it should be one party. The party of life.
Vote for You. Vote for those you Love.