I’m watching a report currently talking about the Iran election and how they are trying to prove that they are using a democratic process to elect officials into power. However, the reporter noted that it really is a false pretense as the Iranian government banned any one who is not an Islamic conformist from running or appearing on the ballot.
This got me thinking however, this is very close to what happens here in the United States. We do get independents on the ballet, sometimes, but they often need to go through so many hoops that it is not worth it. Ralph Nader is full of these stories. He is currently needing to sue Texas in order to just get on the ballot. In 2004, Ralph Nader was sued by the democratic party for running for office. The Green Party is similarly squelched at every opportunity that the big two can get.
This can be looked at in a different light as well. Islamic conservatives are those who believe in the Qur’an in a certain particular way from what I can tell. But when you look at our own elections, when is the last time that a non-christian even ran for office? (For those people who believe spam email, Barack Obama is a Christian and those devices generally can’t enlarge your Penis.) If a Muslim tried to run for a real office, what do you think would happen to him? The southerners and Christians in this nation would likely have him hanged for trying. What about an atheist? Or a Scientologist?
Not that I hope a Scientologist or what not actually ran for office, the point really is if we are going to blast them for diversity, maybe we should look in the mirror. I mean heck this is the first time we’ve even had the likeliness of a black person or a woman running for president. And look how we needed to even make it happen… One is running off the success of her husband’s presidency, the other one talks white, acts white, and isn’t anywhere near one of the darker shades of Black. So it seems like the only way to get diversity in this country is if they don’t really seem like anything but a white male president?
Does anyone even remember the 2000 election? I remember not caring because both Gore & Bush looked and talked the same. They said the same things. I know this was the big issue of the debate… not who had the better stances, but which to take cause they seemed the same. I think Bush eventually won largely because he was more personable than Gore (the same reason he really won against Kerry as well). Now Bush turned out to be pure evil and this country would have been better off with Gore, but that is beside the point. We see this again currently between Clinton & Obama who really seem like the same candidate except Clinton seems more of an attack dog & Obama is more charismatic so Obama is winning. It seems to me that the main way we elect presidents is we line up a couple of clones and then rate them on charisma and that’s who we vote in. How is this choice exactly? You ask me the one who is more charismatic is likely the worse choice… this has been the case the last 2 elections, why not this one too?
From a personal stand point, I’ve been supporting the Green party since 2000. Not because I necessarily even know what they stand for past they are environmental and anti-corporation, both of which I endorse… but more because I believe in bringing true choice to this country. The democrat/republican monopoly in my eyes needs to be ended.