The older I get, the less confidence I have in democracy. I suspect that roughly 48% of the US voting public feels similarly just now. Of course, as I write all is not lost for the Kerry/Edwards campaign and all eyes are on Ohio - but in fairness it's not looking good.
Over the last couple of months of hysteria, I've heard from two separate friends with relatives in the US how their families were doggedly, almost obsessively pro-Bush. I sense that neither of these families would have materially suffered under a Democrat president, but there is some unspoken fear of the unknown at play. The Bush 'just about holding on to the reins' style of leadership seems to fit perfectly with the 'America Under Sieige' mentality he has created. Its as if he is saying "look folks, I can't hold this door shut for much longer - you guys enjoy four more years of paranoid insularity while I keep the bad guys at bay". So many Bush voters seem to have ignored the key questions yet again - who are the bad guys, where are they, and why do they care about us?
Four years ago, when the genetic strand of democratic socialism was perhaps still stronger in me, I proclaimed that the end of the world was nigh under Bush Jr. Perhaps it's really just democracy that is going to end - that twisted idea that a lucky break represents a mandate, and that a baffled, mislead public can effectively choose its leaders?
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
