The Third Party Debate

 

For those of you who didn't get a chance to see the Third Party Candidates debate on RT/CSPAN/Al-Jazeera/Not-an-MSM-Outlet I recommend watching the re-run which will inevitably make its way to the internet/youtube shortly (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335390). More specifically I recommend watching this and the Romney Obama debate (round III) and asking yourself what you see that is different. If you are like me, the Romney-Obama debate will seem scripted and banal, full of emotional tugs and knee-jerk provocatism devoid of real meaning. It's a sad state of affairs in the US these days - nothing of any meaning or basis in reality seems to be a point of discussion. The mainstream media and those who follow or think like them seem to have no interest any more in facts or reason - Straw-man arguments are constructed to make candidates look bad, complex ideas are replaced with cliche narratives, meaningless choices are presented as salient differences (would you rather have more war, more debt or both?) and reality is dismissed at virtually every opportunity.

Why are we Americans (and westerners in general) so gullible, ignorant, indifferent, insincere, arrogant and reckless? That may seem like a scathing indictment and I certainly wouldn't say it in public around anyone I thought would be offended but it just seems to be an inescapable fact these days. Perhaps I will struggle with this question for the remainder of my life and maybe its time to just accept that this is the way it is and go back into my reclusive interests again before I got into this whole blogging thing. Speaking of which, I am thinking of closing this blog, partly because I am starting a new job and won't have much time for it but also because I don't see any comments on it. The world keeps its secrets and people go on with their lives without even knowing it had any and blaming all their problems on the wrong things. If you are interested in these topics and themes please speak up, please share your thoughts and ideas wherever you are in your own lives (on here or otherwise) - after all the clock is ticking for all of us and Rome does appear to be in flames...