On Impatience and Compromise and Moderation

There is a website out there (no, scratch that: in here) called whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com. I think it is the epitome of stupidity. But so are many websites. This one is getting the nod of approval from many of my friends, and I think they are not being sarcastic, and this concerns me greatly. Bear with me for some background.

When the top executive of United States Incorporated chose to invade and occupy Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 it was unjust, poorly planned, quite possibly illegal, and led to massive, inexcusable war crimes and crimes against humanity. When his administration invaded and began the occupation of Iraq in 2003 it was unjust, poorly planned and utterly illegal, and led, again, to war crimes, crimes against humanity, unparalleled destruction to the environment and to articles of great historical and cultural value, and civil war. When his administration continued the material and ideological support of the State of Israel in its violence against Palestinians it was always unjust, criminal, inexcusable. When his administration opened and maintained the torture and detention center at Guantánamo Bay it was illegal, inexcusable, unpardonable. The list of crimes goes on.

Who could argue that the people behind these terrible acts should be pardoned? What mercy is due to the likes of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, Powell and their cronies?

The current president of the United States, whose supporters counsel "patience" and of whom his detractors demand "compromise," has continued many of the policies of the war criminals listed above. My friends who like to remind the world through some idiotic website that Obama has signed various financial reform laws or been more friendly to the cause of gay rights, forget or forgive this fact. So I will repeat it: Obama has continued many of the horrific policies of the Bush Administration.

Patience? You don't call for patience when irradiated bombs drop from drone aircraft on your home.

You don't call for patience when your sons are held in illegal captivity for nearly a decade on the other side of the world.

You don't call for patience when your war-torn country is left with thousands upon thousands of trained killers stationed throughout the place, and the world's largest US Embassy is built as a city unto itself amidst the capital.

You don't call for patience when your daughter cannot travel abroad to study for fear she will never be granted reentry, or when the sick are held at checkpoints for hours before finding out whether they are to gain or be denied access to nearby hospitals.

Psychotic rightwing racists like to compare Obama to Hitler. I prefer to compare wilfully ignorant populaces to each other. The rampant state aggression isn't permissible because the trains run on time, or the streets are clean, or there are a lot of women in government. Violence on the other side of the world isn't excusable because the opposition at home is racist and reactionary.

Why are so many people interested in patience when dealing with a war criminal? Where is their compassion for others? The bombs are dropping right now. The bombs are dropping right now! This is no time for patience, no time for compromise, no time to be moderate, reasonable, civil.

A few days ago I attended a screening of the excellent and important documentary Gasland. (If you haven't seen it yet, find it and see it.) Filmmaker Josh Fox was in attendance for a Q&A. It was election day, and he introduced his work by asking the capacity crowd if everyone had voted. Massive applause. With his film and his appearances, Fox is bravely fighting against hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in North America. But his priorities can be screwed up. Hundreds of people in a room, all fired up and ready to go, and all he could think to say is "have you voted" (ostensibly, for this or that Democrat supporting safer gas drilling). He did not ask if everyone in the room had slashed the tyres of a Halliburton truck today, or blocked a racist homophobe from campaigning. It's all about being civil and moderate and playing within the narrowly drawn rules of the game.

I sometimes listen to a few minutes of rightwing talk radio, people like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. It is instructional to hear what they say and how they say it. Privileged to live in a beautiful place like Ithaca, New York, I guess it's important to me to be reminded of the depth of evil that flaunts itself proudly and lucratively in the United States. Oh, that evil: I think it is empowered by the patience and pseudo-moderation of the same sort of folks who think Obama is a swell guy.

Compromise does not work when a knife is held to your throat. Moderation doesn't help when your opponents (and they are legion) only speak violence and hate. Patience is useless in a burning building. Can you get to that?

How to Vote in 2010

Aren't elections a total sham in the US? Even when candidates fail to buy their way into office, they can still buy influence over the winners. But you can't and I can't. Why not? How is the whole occupation in Afghanistan going for you? It's been nine years. At least Iraq is violence-free post-Saddam. Right? I'm not so sure about all this democracy. Has democracy made the air cleaner? Or the water more pristine? Has it prevented poisons from entering the soil? Or any oil from spilling out anywhere? How is democracy working for migratory birds? How is it going for whale populations and rainforests and starving children in a bountiful world?

Every two years some Americans like to vote. I like to do something better. I reflect on Thoreau's On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, the slim essay that influenced Goldman and Ghandi and King. One of many wonderful lines worth meditating on: "Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence." I think about this often, and when people get election fever I want them to think about it too.

I don't vote in rigged elections. (Here are my salvos on the subject from 2006 and 2008.) But I understand some people believe the democratic process works, so I address the following to them:

If you need to vote, avoid incumbants. And members of political parties. And career politicians. And rich people. And white men. Don't vote for women with the hearts of men. Or candidates from marginalized groups who have adopted the consciousness of their oppressors. Avoid racists. Avoid bigots. Avoid homophobes and misogynists. Never vote for anyone willing to devote any public funds for war or occupation under any circumstances. Never vote for anyone with a flag pinned to their clothing. Avoid anyone who eats meat, smokes a cigar, or plays golf. And anyone who owns or is on the board of a corporation. Don't vote for the relatives or spouses of politicians. Or anyone who has ever invested in the stock market. Avoid anyone who uses the word "homeland" and is not referring to indigenous rights. Don't vote for anyone who has ever acted professionally, or anyone who has ever participated in corporate sports. Current or former military personnel should not get your vote. People ordained to preach any religion should not get your vote. Nor should people who have had elective cosmetic surgery. Never vote for someone whose slogans are more memorable than their policies. Never vote for someone whose clothes cost more than yours. Never vote for anyone who says "god bless America" and isn't clearly joking.

I am totally serious. Thanks.