In November we will choose the future.
This is not an overstatement. To some extent it has been true in every election, but this year it is—if not more true—more overtly true.
This election will set the tone of the coming American century. It will determine if our metahistory is one of welcoming new approaches to new problems, or one of refusing to properly acknowledge those problems and and failing to see that the old ways are not always best. It is a choice between determined openness and determined ignorance.
Make no mistake; determined ignorance is what the McCain campaign embodies. You can see it in McCain’s inability to see beyond the methods and ideologies that have served him for a quarter of a century of politics. You can feel it in the aggressive “anti-elitism” of conservative media. You can hear it in the intellectually lazy shortcuts Palin employs in describing Americans as “Joe Sixpack” and “Hockey Moms.”1
Obama isn’t a perfect candidate. He is not a messiah. He is not our savior. But he is a politician who has shown a willingness to consider new ideas. More importantly, the context of his campaign is one with the receptiveness to ideas that we so dearly need at this time.
I have no great conclusion. I have no facts to present that you cannot find elsewhere. I haven’t really said anything others have not said. But I am adding my voice to theirs, and I am asking you this question:
What future do you want to choose in November?
[]{#one}1. Just who are these people anyway? I’ve yet to meet these “average” Americans. It’s insulting to refer to anyone by any moniker implying they’re defined by drinking or by hauling their kids around.