Free-Floating Anxiety

This will no doubt ramble; I failed in my duties yet again, dear reader, and didn't have anything prepared before I sat down after dinner on Tuesday. But, we'll give it a go.

It's impossible to say as of this writing whether or not things are actually going to calm down on our fair planet. Israel remains a tinderbox, its future even less certain than usual despite the fact that both sides have managed to sit down and have a civil discussion about the trouble now. The stock market skitters up and down like a spider on amphetamines; like Californians feeling the house shake in the night, everyone holds their breath and wonders if it's The Big One. So far, it hasn't been. And there's that pesky presidential election to worry about in a few more weeks.

I've made up my mind that I'm definitely not voting for Gore, which I had briefly considered doing. Not even if I lived in a swing state would I vote for Gore. So now it comes down to the fact that my political ideals are almost evenly split between socialism and libertarianism (not an easy feat, I'll grant). I expect I'll vote for Nader, as the most viable of the third parties (not saying much, granted). I don't know, maybe a third party would just join the other two in fighting over the center ground, but I have some hope that it would spur some sort of political evolution before that happened. It's worth dreaming about.

This despite the fact that last week we had one of those experiences that makes people want to privatize the postal service. We put our mail on hold before leaving for the wedding, of course. When we came home to find a big stack of mail on the kitchen table, and more arriving at what seemed the usual volume daily, we assumed that they hadn't gotten the message. Then a package failed to arrive, although the company claimed it had been delivered. Upon going to the post office, what does my husband find but a second stack of mail that has been held for us, awaiting our return? Apparently, the postal carriers don't always pay attention to these things.

Really.

But I can hardly vote for any pro-business candidates, because we were called by a telemarketer at NINE FIFTEEN A.M. this past Saturday. Now granted, I was awake, up and about, but still. That's something I wouldn't mind a law against. Come to think of it, couldn't they make telemarketing illegal, period? If I want to buy your stupid product I'll find you, how about that? If you're calling to tell me you're going to mail me something, guess what? I'll either read it or I won't, and it won't have anything to do with the fact that you called me to let me know about it.

Anyway, I don't think either is going to be a topic in the third debate, so I suppose I won't watch this one either. Sad though it may be to say, I consider sleep somewhat more important. Although at this rate, I will end up staying up late on election night itself; things might be different by tomorrow morning, but at the moment it's still a real race for once.

I really do wonder what everyone else is using to choose between those two. Every time I read a media analysis of how Bush strikes everyone as being a likeable, friendly guy, I just about want to scream. Friendliness is not an essential quality in a president, people. Get over the goofy smile long enough to shine a light in one ear and you'll see it come out the other side. Gore's got the brains and, I believe, the personal skills for the job, but will be hobbled by both his own mistakes and anything of the Clintons that he might have played a part in (calling the "brains" bit into question, actually). And here we thought we'd seen enough special prosecutors in the past eight years; they might as well set aside a bedroom in the White House.

In summation, to quote the great Terry Pratchett, whose work I reread regularly: "...Most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people."

I trust that this will continue to hold true, and hope that none of the events mentioned above will end up on the list of the great tragedies of history, triumphs being a bit much to hope for.

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