By Chalan Moon
Permit me to pose a hypothetical scenario. You and I are in a math class together. Outside of class, I admit to you that I am terrible at math and need help understanding it. Then, during an exam, you find that you are doing terribly. Do you cheat off my paper? Do you ask me for help? No, right?
Then why in the hell are we listening to McCain regarding this bailout package? As recently as two weeks ago--TWO WEEKS!--President Bush, Senator McCain and Secretary of Treasury Paulson avidly stated that "the fundamentals of the United States economy are strong." Even Senator Obama is supporting this bill, heavily supported by Mr. Bush. At this point, I support the exact opposite of what Bush says. He has marred not only our country, but the world's view of Americans. I have left the country three times and every single time I meet people of varying nationalities and converse, they say something to the effect of, 'I am surprised. You are not like other Americans. You are kind and listen'.
What the hell happened? My outrage is almost uncontainable. Who am I to vote for? I clearly cannot vote for McCain for egregious affronts on the efforts of humanity and moral accountability. He pushed me towards Obama. And now I don't really want to vote for Obama because of his inability to stand up and shout this outrage I find to be so self-evident. Seems to me I might as well just vote for Jon Stewart. Why would anyone want to support a bill heavily rushed to vote by Bush? He barely graduated college, failed as a governor of Texas, and has left our country's constitution and reputation riddled with more holes than his reported record. And now we are expected to believe that he can get us out of this mess? Moreover, we are supposed to heed the admonitions of McCain as serious? He went from "need more education on economics" to "I don't know where you got that quote." Tim Russert got it from YOU! I got it from you. Did the world not get it?
When I was growing up, the President deserved its capital 'P'. It was a positions to be revered and respected. Now I don't even know if it deserves a period when abbreviated. Truth is the government perpetually refines their ability to control our minds through the agendas of lobbyists, analysts, the media at large, they are all in bed together. It is no wonder Americans are befuddled beyond rational thinking. No matter how far I follow my studies, the references, the voices of the people, I just can't escape the feeling no one knows what they are doing. Only seconds remain in the exam as everyone furiously scratches down their answers, cheating and lying their way towards the best grade they can deceivingly receive. Unfortunately, we are cheating off of men who told us they didn't know to begin with.
(Author's Note: I crunched some numbers. The current population of the U.S. is around 301 million people, 75% of which are 18 or older. Subtracting incarcerated individuals and dividing $700 billion into that number gives you approximately $3,500 dollars per person. Want to stimulate the economy? Do it from the ground by giving it to the very pillars holding up the crumbling roof of the NYSE: the American people.)
