Truth Be Told
Posted Thu, 09/11/08
This is a fitting link-related post found at Devil's Kitchen (UK):
Quoting Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland:
The post at the Devil's Kitchen suggests the Freedland column "seems almost calculated to anger American readers, leading them to believe that this is the type of attitude that lies behind the Obama campaign."
It doesn't anger me. I watch the news day in and day out in the United States, paying particular attention to the political campaigns and the "plans" each candidate has to offer in the way of rectifying the troublesome situations afflicting Americans today. The current state of the economy et al is a direct result of the moronic Republican sitting in the White House at this very moment.
However, I don't listen to the news and take their word as gospel unless it is a video presentation where very little can be hidden in regards to speeches and other political rhetoric. I look into various issues that concern me, such as Senate voting accounts and facts proven by public records, just to name a few.
One such example popped into my head when I read the Devil's Kitchen entry. Barack Obama wants to eliminate taxation on senior citizens who earn $50,000 or less per year. How does he propose to compensate for the lack of senior tax dollars? By increasing taxation on the very affluent and by implementing a capitol gains tax hike. McCain's solution? Increase tax cuts for large corporations so that they have extra money available to hire more employees at higher pay scales. Really? Obama's solution would be more immediate, while McCain's could be years down the road and very iffy at best (whose to say the corporations would "share the wealth" when they have been reticent to do so in the past?). People need financial relief now, not years down the road.
So no, the Freedland column does not anger me. It is closer to reality than people living outside the United States can ever realize. Non-Americans may not have a say in the vote in November, but American citizens really don't, either (re: the Electoral College). That Bush is hated the world over is another reality, which affects everyone living across the globe - allied or not.
Freedland also notes:
Until now, anti-Americanism has been exaggerated and much misunderstood: outside a leftist hardcore, it has mostly been anti-Bushism, opposition to this specific administration. But if McCain wins in November, that might well change. Suddenly Europeans and others will conclude that their dispute is with not only one ruling clique, but Americans themselves. For it will have been the American people, not the politicians, who will have passed up a once-in-a-generation chance for a fresh start - a fresh start the world is yearning for.
The truth be told.
Tags: Politics