Thursday, October 16, 2008

Losing my shit.

I am officially "losing my shit," as my friend Melissa would say. This election is far too abrasive for my delicate mental constitution.

Last night, Hot Metal held "Debate the Debate," a debate-watching discussion with actual rules such as "have respect" and "don't judge." I went to this debate and wound up losing my mind--also known as my "shit."

I probably shouldn't have gone, but I couldn't help myself: I'm a masochist when it comes to human stupidity. So I gathered with my politically diverse church-going friends, made small talk, ate a bunch of popcorn, and then promptly choked on it as I listened to Obama and McCain recite the same arguments they've been using for the last few months.

Obama wearily defended himself yet again against McCain's groundless accusations concerning his "terrorist" pals; McCain smugly continued to accuse him. "Joe Plumber" was addressed earnestly by McCain and ironically by Obama. Fingers were pointed; buzz words words sufficiently obscured meaningless, empty campaign promises.

This was all nauseating, but I didn't lose my shit until McCain defended Palin by claiming she understood "special needs" families! It was a pathetically emotional plea that has very little to do with the office of the vice presidency and how Palin is or is not fit for it. So, of course this means "Joe Plumber" or "Joe Six-Pack" must have loved every minute of it.

When McCain stared into the camera and addressed this anonymous Joe, I realized how this seemingly offensive ploy was working rhetorically. Joe's an American myth: the noble, hardworking, family-oriented American man who likes "straight talk" over beer and chicken wings. There are probably a lot of white suburban and rural men who'd fit this stereotype, at least on the surface. They're the type of person that urban professionals sneer at, that blacks eye warily, that Europeans regard as the stereotypical American. Joe, by the standards of the rest of America--minorities, women, youth, professional whites--is hardly exemplary; in fact, he's kind of an oaf. So why is McCain talking to him?

Well, because McCain IS Joe--with money. And there's a sizeable segment of middle America--Joes and their wives--who think Joe/McCain is a stand-up guy.

There were a few Joes at the debate last night, and they made me lose my shit out loud. I kind of yelled at them when they said they STILL didn't think global warming is real, when they sneered at the idea of voluntary taxation, and finally (and most explosively) when one of them said he found McCain's accusations that Obama had hung around with terrorists convincing.

Joe, why must you be so dense?

I tried to keep what little of my shit remained, but it was too late. I just HAD to bring up Sarah Palin so that I could point out her many legitimate failings, including being found guilty of abuse of power in Alaska just recently. And that's when I irrevocably lost my shit.

Now I will be known as the outspoken liberal. This has its pros and cons. It's good to have loud liberal voices in American churches--most of them are so ignorantly, blindly conservative. And I want people to know where I stand, why I think liberal values are so important. But I don't want to be the crazy ranter who shuts down dialogue and encourages polarity.

Did I become the crazy ranter? I don't think so. I DO wish I had kept an even tone. Desperate times, though, result in desperate measures, and sometimes my "shit" becomes negligible.