An American Holiday

Election Day is here, Paul Revere will ride through towns handing out presents and John Paul Jones hands out piñatas to deck hands on every dock on in the United States. It is a patriotic holiday where only Americans celebrate, and that is United States American not from one of those other countries. I’m encouraging everyone to vote, I did about a month ago.

My prediction: Democrats take 6 Senate seats to retake the Senate (Missouri, Montana, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). The house is more difficult to predict but I think it is safe to say that the Democrats will take Congress, I’ll say 26 seats go to the Democrats.

What happens afterwards, nothing; a government lockdown. Bush isn’t going to be willing to play nice and will only fight with the Dems. On the other hand saying thing like (paraphrasing) voting for the democrats is a vote for the terrorists is not going to make the Dems want to work with the president. This is what (I think) many people want, just a stop to a hugely corrupt political machine. The bigger question is if Republicans get the hint now and reorient back to a more Libertarian party and kick out the social conservatives. Let them form their own party. Personally I think that it will take another election to give them a proper slap on the side of the head.

I have really gotten into Bill Maher and he said something on his show that many people need to think about; (paraphrasing) that we need to stop looking at what America accomplished fifty years ago and beating our chest and shout how great we are. America is not the most democratic country, not the most educated country, not the best on human rights, and we are not a free trade country.

I’m tired of hearing about how we saved Europe in the Second World War, yes it is a great thing but it was also over 60 years ago. Living in Japan now it is difficult not to think about the fact that the United States is the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon against another country (and against civilian targets); not to mention the firebombing of Tokyo of Dresden (once again civilian targets). I bring these things up because I don not want them to happen again, and there is no justification to ever use these tactics (which is terrorism) even if we think we are on the cause of right.

We need to move on from these things and look towards the future.

Some, including some in my own family, would say that I am “un-American” or a “traitor” (like the Dixie Chicks) and I can only be American enough to accept that because they have the right. Wednesday night, hump night, I’m going to have some sake to celebrate a Democratic victory (if my predictions are correct of course).