How The Political Conventions Are Killing My Will To Vote

I want to be informed. I want to be a good American, a good voter. I've followed the primaries, done some reading on the subject. I've formed some ideas. I've made a go of it...I really have.

But now it's convention season once again and, at the end of the day, I hate to say it...they just won't let me do it. They just won't let me feel passionate or confident...they won't let me feel good about voting for anybody. In the end, it feels like no matter what choice I make, I'm still casting a vote for a Politician.

Not that I can entirely blame the conventions...I'll take some of the blame. I've tried to avoid them, I really have...but while we were on vacation, the conventions and "analysis" found their way onto our television in the hotel rooms. I found my way to them again last night. Maybe it's curiosity, maybe it's hope, maybe it's sadomasochism. But I just keep running into the same things.

One of the most insightful things I have heard about recent American politics was the statement, "Americans don't know who they support any more...but they sure know who they hate." This has been what has been on display for every convention I can remember. Last year was an excellent example. The speeches I saw/read/saw "highlights" from at both conventions were stunningly similar. The DNC worked to paint George Bush as a warmongering, lying, environment-killing, isolationist idiot and the RNC worked equally hard to show John Kerry as an unpatriotic, God-hating, baby-killing flip flopper who wanted to raise your taxes. The DNC didn't really talk all much that about Kerry...the RNC didn't really talk all that much about Bush. They didn't talk about their candidates or their platforms or what they hoped to achieve outside of some general, benign statements like, "I think we should stop using so much oil," and "I think education is important." (Might as well have thrown in "I'm pro-puppies" and "I'm totally committed to doing all I can to stop bad things from happening.") They talked about how terrible life would be if you were stupid enough to elect the "Other Guy." They bandied hate, fear, and bloodlust around their arenas like tennis balls all week and then went home to let it fester. It was gruesome. And it was again this year.

What makes it harder is that I had hoped. I loved "Early Obama." Obama in Iowa got me excited. He talked about being unconventional. He talked about the hurts and crippling inactivity of division. He made stirring speeches about expecting the best out of everybody and listening to everybody, even those across the aisle. Most of all, he didn't take cheap shots at other candidates. He did something completely new...he actually talked about what he would like to do. He seemed different...like less of a Politician.

And I had hoped John McCain would be different. He has always gone out of his way to step outside the political boundaries. He resisted cheap shots early on, too...talking about some of the changes he hoped to be a part of. And he had always seemed like an affable, even-keeled, and open kind of guy to me. I got excited, too, when he went way out into left field to find an unconventional VP from a small town.

But..sure enough...at the conventions, the "teeth" and the "red meat" came out. I rallied my hopes again for the Obama speech. They guy's a heck of a speaker...and I was hoping for that "Early Obama," a sweeping, inspirational speech that would talk about what was possible, about his goals and vision...about who he is and what he hopes to do. He had some of that (I loved that part of his speech that talked about working towards a common good), but there was also plenty of blaming, jabs, and "fear the other guy" junk. And then, last night, I was hoping for something down-to-earth, connected, and real...and there was some of that (moments of wit and stories of how her roots formed her that I enjoyed) but, again, it didn't take long for the chainsaw to come out big-time...and just like the crowds at the DNC, the cheers were the loudest for the cheap shots.

And so these "outsiders" both followed suit with all-too-familiar speeches that I honestly feel (at this point) like I could write myself. RNC? Talk about guns, right-to-life, cutting taxes, insert God here and there...and make sure to mention how (insert Democrat here) will raise taxes, hurt small businesses, hates America, and doesn't really love Jesus. DNC? Talk about the environment, about social programs, reducing defense spending, and the evils of big business...and make sure to mention how (insert Republican here) is in the pocket of big oil, kills pandas for fun, wants to nuke every country that looks at us funny, and uses Jesus as a billy club.

I swear I could do it for them. And it's because I've learned from the same place they have...from the whims and methods of the parade of the soulless, blathering pundits that vomit "opinion" 24-hours a day on the news network of your choice. They want their candidates to mirror them...with more "red meat" and "conviction." They want them to be as arrogant, rude, and obstinate as they are...and compromise, rationality, and (God forbid) even listening to the "other guy" are not options. Interrupt, man! Yell louder! Put words in their mouth! Play soundbites over and over and over again. Michelle Obama hates America! Cindy McCain's a rich snob! Tear them all to pieces bit by bit by bit until there's nothing left that's noble or special or inspirational about them. For heaven's sake, don't ever admit you might be wrong...it's media bias! Attack! Defend! Rip them to shreds. Make them live in fear.

It wears me out...and it depresses me because I have come to realization that we will probably never have another great American president or another great American speech. Both require leadership and a hope for something greater on the part of the listeners. There will never be another Abraham Lincoln because every president will be immediately torn limb from limb by a collection of reporters, bloggers, and the like and irrationally deified by others. There will never be another Gettysburg Address because speeches that are meant to heal or unite us will be D.O.A. because they "flip-flop too much" and don't "appeal to the base." We'll just keeping doing what we've done to Clinton and Bush...vilifying or canonizing, depending on if you watch MSNBC or FoxNews or have an "R" or a "D" after your name on your driver's license. And the votes will continue to float around 50% as the people trying to figure it out just settle on "giving the other party another try."

And so I register Independent and hope for something else...for someone and something completely different. I wait to feel like somebody's being genuine. I wait for it not to be about the money. I wait for the day when I don't feel like I'm voting for the lesser of two evils. I wait for the day when the devolving political discourse leaves our political stages and churches. I wait for the day when I'm not called "naive" or "indecisive" because I don't blame the Republicans or the Democrats.

And I sigh as I watch the news and the conventions...because I'm not holding my breath.