Here’s a challenge for you. Can you, in a brief paragraph, summarize what the stakes are in this presidential election so that an undecided voter can have some clarity on their choice?
I find the enterprise difficult for the simple reason that the stakes are so high is so many different fields.
Do you want any degree of freedom at all, or do you want to be a modern day share-cropper?
Do you want to afford to send your daughter to college, or do you want to see her dancing on a pole?
Do you want to retire someday, or would you rather live in a cardboard box when you’re 80?
As a university professor, I really object to this emphasis on a college education as a measure of success and opportunity. Furthermore, war, health care and civil liberties are far, far more important than a degree in something or other from somewhere or other.
Universities are clogged with students who have no idea why they are there other than they’ve been told they are/will be failures and will be poverty stricken if they don’t go to college.
while l agree, somewhat, with you that the need for a college education is over emphasized, there’s no question that the higher the education level, the higher the life-time earnings potential. [note: l say “potential”].
we’ve gone from a nation of producers, to a nation of consumers.. for many reasons, not the least of which, the draconian policies that have led to outsourcing and off-shoring of high paying jobs, blue and white collar; the virtual emasculation of unions, guilds and the like; and the subsequent lack of pride in the crafts and trades…there are fewer and fewer opportunities for success in those areas, and the training and apprenticeship programs that used to teach those skills have become nearly extinct.
the notable exception being the M/l complex. when one of the largest industrial sectors in the country is devoted to the R&D and manufacture of weapons of destruction… and unrelenting support of their use…not to mention the energy sector…Big OIl…that’s devoted, body and soul, to the raping of resources for fun and profit, there’s little hope of achieving any measure of security, success or opportunity without it.
“College” in its many forms is about all that is left (aside from enlisting in our voluntary military) for a young person to involve themselves in after high school that has any chance in improving their economic viability. Are there too many communication majors? Yep, but once you folks have them on campus, a required course which shows undergrads which majors lead to real job offers at graduation time might help with motivation. It couldn’t hurt.
There is training for employment and there is education. They are not the same, and without educated voters, democracy is doomed.
I think you’re missing my point, and I don’;t think I emphasize college education (I mentioned it once) nor do I say anything about “college education as a measure of success and opportunity”.
Believe me, I WISH I went to trade school instead, and depending on my kid’s interests and skills, I want the trades to be an option for him as well.
What i wrote about was being able to afford to send your kids to college, and that’s a very different thing. I think most parents want to be able to afford the higher education option so their kids (if they go) don’t get stuck with loans that are hard to pay.
If John McCain is elected President, the middle class of this country will disappear. The trend of vanishing pensions will continue in favor of continued investment in a financial system that has been exposed as a mechanism through which to funnel wealth from the lower and middle classes to the already ridiculously rich. Furthermore, this continued transfer of riches will allow the few well off to continue to gain influence over the government through the legalized bribery we call ‘lobbying’. The rich love a good war, and with their growing influence you can count on some more of those too. Also, they can afford to insulate themselves against the growing effects of climate change, which a McCain administration will continue to ignore as fervently (or more) as the Bush administration has. Problems will continue to be denied instead of solved, and as a result will only multiply.
I had a lifelong Republican friend call me today, after turning away Obama canvassers at her door. She listened to Obama and Biden in Virginia today, and came away a Democrat. If you solutions to what the real problems in your life are, they have answers. If you see no problem with the way things are, stay your course, and may your children have mercy on your memory.
oops.
Over the last eight years, our response to 9/11 ended America’s world political dominance, in turn the Iraq and Afghanistan wars ended our world military dominance, in turn our response to Katrina and Rita, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib ended our world moral dominance, and in turn the Crash of 2008 ended our world financial dominance. In November we must decide between the people that squandered everything that made America great, or the people who can restore that greatness.
that’s excellent.
a graph: Eight years is Enough:
With a McCain-Palin victory, we’re guaranteed continuation of the old wars ( for victory in Iraq and AF/Pak) and new wars – Iran, Russia, China – McCain brags he knows how to win wars is trigger happy. We need to spend war funds here at home to guarantee us a robust economy.
Think of it, in the last 7 years we’ve spent over 1 trillion on wars plus no bid contracts – money that could provide universal health care for ALL Americans, rebuild our infrastructure.
If economic security is your priority, McCain is not your man.
If Obama does not win this election, by the time your children are your age, they will know that their children, YOUR grandchildren, will be the last viable generation the human species will ever produce.
And then the universe will be empty of consciousness.
I little extreme…I hope.
Considering the weekly news on the progress of global warming….
….I hope it’s a little extreme too.
It is “about” our mortal asses.
All possible further mistakes lead directly to and through the above ring of fire.
Bet on it.
AG
Do you think the country is better off today than it was eight years ago? If not, why should we keep the same Republican characters in charge after they’ve botched the job so badly? Shouldn’t we try something new?
**For me, I like the framing of asking whether the “country” is better off, as opposed to Reagan’s “are you” better off. Only die-hard Bush supporters (19%) would say yes to this question.
I am definitely better off, so if I’m honest, I would have to answer yes to that question. Is the country better off? Are you f****n’ kidding me?!
And how about the world? Is the WORLD better off?
Well, OK, one could argue that the world is better off with a multipolar basis of power as opposed to a unipolar one.
I believe it has been well said many times before and that is
If you want more of the same vote McCain Palin.
If you want change vote Obama Biden.
End of story any more rhetoric just makes ppl glaze over.
Are you better off than you were eight years ago? Is America better off? No. In every area, the Bush Administration has weakened our country. Our economy is near the breaking point. Our Armed Forces are exhausted, with reserves having to deploy to Iraq again and yet again. We’ve lost friendships all over the world. Remember after 9/11, when almost everyone in the world stood with America as one? Bush squandered that goodwill. And John McCain promises to continue his policies, voted with him 95% of the time last year. Vote to make America stronger and prouder. Vote for Barack Obama.
While we can argue about the effect of a generation of Republican rule, no argument can be formed to explain away the complete and utter collapse of this Admin and its policies, both foreign and domestic. To return the GOP to office is to reward FAILURE, the absolute opposite of the American political and economic system. In fact doing so, it would be hard to imagine a more UnAmerican act.
R
You probably should have said, ‘without hyperbole’.
If you want more preemptive-aggressive wars, greater concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, a shrinking social safety net, unregulated financial institutions and markets, further erosion of your civil liberties, increased motivation for terrorist attacks against us and continued denial of the negative environmental impact of our dependence on oil, vote for the party that got us in this mess in the first place. If you would like to give your kids and their kids a chance at a decent life, vote for Obama. The choice could not be clearer.
Do you want to be a slave to the moneyed, unearned income interests that own almost everything and their bought and paid for American fascist party, the Republican Party? Or not?
The United States of America is a boat that is sinking.
You have two choices.
The Black man who is offering you the life preserver.
The White man who not only is offering you a cement block, but was the one who punched the holes in your boat in the first place.
Which do you choose?
Remember. You are NOT in the boat alone. Your children and grandchildren are in the boat with you.
Studies indicate that conservatives are fear-driven (I’m talking about studies with scary pictures and electrical measurements of emotional response), and this fits all too well with the all-fear, all-the-time message of the Bush bedwetter brigade. So, help them feel the fear —
Whatever he was before, McCain at age 72 is an unstable, impulsive, irresponsible liar. He betrayed the national interest by choosing a woman who could be President next spring, but can’t safely be allowed to hold a press conference. His old friends say they don’t know him. We don’t know what he might do. Long-time conservatives are rejecting him. Obama is steady and stable, and [insert list of sensible people] endorse him.