It's Even Worse Than It Appears, But It's Alright

A friend said recently that we needn’t give this woman any more attention than she’s already getting because it’s not worth it. I wholeheartedly agree. My only comment is this: I know deep inside my heart that this is like one of those situations where it all just feels like a bad dream. Tomorrow, we’re all going to wake up and on Good Morning America Diane is going to tell us, “Wow, now here’s something you won’t believe… apparently they were just kidding! According to a statement released by the GOP this morning, the mention of her as his Vice Presidential nominee was meant as a joke! Wow, I mean, a lot of us commentators were a bit curious as to how she managed to swing that nomination and I must say, I’m a bit relieved that this was all just an attempt by the GOP to throw us for a loop! Imagine if a man who’d been in politics for that long, surrounded by so many intelligent advisors had really picked that person to run with!” And then they’d all start cracking up, as would we all as we watched. Perhaps they’d interview her and she’d be sitting there with some dead animal and a big ole smile saying, “Well, it was a fun couple of weeks, I must say!”

It’s been interesting to look at all of this from the perspective I have here, usually getting my news a few weeks (or months) late from Newsweek. What’s been even more interesting for me to realize is how very little I care about it. In 2004 I was very charged, prepped to support my man (even buying buttons and a tee-shirt) and inevitably crying when I watched his concession speech, being unable to imagine a world in which prezzy would be allowed to continue for 4 more years. But now… I’m here, and maybe it’s just that my priorities have shifted or that I can’t imagine a world in which our guys don’t win or it’s just a result of being so isolated or I know my vote (as he is my senator and I am voting absentee) won’t be counted or it’s DC withdrawal or something else... Who knows. But I really don’t care nearly as much as I used to. I feel no charge when I get a chance to watch CNN. I feel no anger when the maverick says his shpeal or righteousness when the Senator fights back. Perhaps it’s this: I’ve learned here that although it has to be dealt with, BS gets you nowhere, but in the world of US politics, when it’s coming out of these men (and women) left and right, I’m just too tired. We’re supposed to be educated; we’re supposed to be civil; we’re supposed to be the leaders of the free world. To spend so much time talking about beauty pageants and lipstick and unwed mothers and voting based on sex or race… it’s too tiring. These conversations on TV, the web, the radio, in print, they aren’t any more educated than a room full of pre-teens talking about the latest gossip in their grade.

So, perhaps it’s pretty great to be so isolated, so I can just bypass all of the ridiculousness.