Election as metaphor

This election illustrated many things, but one thing it showed clearly: how completely screwed up our values and priorities are in this country. The fact that a witless religious fanatic could be even remotely considered a viable candidate to assume the presidency is beyond absurd. I don't care if you are conservative, is this the best candidate? The only towering intellect and experience that conservatives can offer up? They are bereft of any values if true. It is nothing more than a cynical appeal to the boneheads and the stupidly uninformed (the "values" voters).

Am I being sexist? Of course not. All intelligent women I know are insulted by this candidate as should any reasonable, thinking person regardless of gender.

But back to my original point--our values. Let's do a little comparison. The U.S. considers someone like Palin. An intellectual lightweight. Uneducated. Lacking experience. A superstitious religious fanatic. But gosh, she's pretty. As I said, this is a metaphor for our culture. We value appearance over substance. The physical over the intellectual. Style over accomplishment.

Compare our choice with Germany's, for example. They have a woman chancellor, Angela Merkel. She has a doctorate in physics. She spent years in government and was eventually elected Chancellor. This is a woman of intellect and accomplishment. Could she be elected here? No, she's not pretty enough.

This is why I'm pessimistic about the future of my country. It goes to fundamentals. We are becoming more ignorant, less competitive, more complacent, and willing to accept shit if it's packaged attractively or comfortably. Another variation of this is the homily that many people used when voting for Bush despite his obvious shortcoming and failings: "He's the kind of guy I could have a beer with", was a phrase one often heard. Let's forget for a moment that I'd rather have a beer with someone really smart over a moron. Since when is beer consumption and bar patronage a reasonable qualification for running the country? Wouldn't we be better served by electing someone with an understanding of economics? Foreign affairs? History? Public policy? No, in the U.S. people now fear, or are envious of, intellectual or scholastic achievement.