in 2000 [i could go back further, but whatever], america elevated a guy to the presidency for no better reason than because he was amiably redolent of the guy it had voted out in 1992.
in 2008, america elevated a guy to the presidency for no better reason than because his flashing white teeth promised hope and a change from the last guy america had elevated to the presidency.
in 2010, america allowed its midterm elections to be swayed by a fringe group of conservatives who, sensing something was seriously wrong, screamed for limited government but woulda cut your nuts off had you dared threaten their medicare or social security.
in 2011, sensing even more is wrong than the last guys, this would seem to be the best that our best and brightest can come up with:
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in 1776, any sixteen-year-old american entering college was expected to be conversant in latin and greek, and prepared to develop a thorough mastery of logic and argumentation--what we call "critical thinking" today. furthermore, theology was a mainstay of education back then, providing a foundation of [gasp] ethics.
i keep waiting for some modern incarnation of washington, madison and/or jefferson to rise up and lead america outta the wilderness in which it finds itself today.
needless to say, i keep being disappointed.
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in 2006, a guy i respect advised me to cash-out everything i own, convert it all to gold in a singapore bank, follow him to chile and renounce my american citizenship before the shit hit the fan.
he's laughing at me now, and i can hardly blame him.
