Mr. M. and Me, a Love Story, pt. 1

I have just been accused by one Mr. M. of being disingenuous, since I claimed that the Lee County Sheriff's remarks concerning Barack Obama were making headlines (see my post "Brazil's Forced Democracy, continued"). Mr. M., who, like myself, is a reader of mainstream papers, seems to think that if these news vehicles don't speak of the Lee County Sheriff, than whatever the Sheriff said is not making headlines. Of course, if we search Google, we find that more than one small town paper were discussing the remark and its ramifications (see here, here, here, and here).

I wholeheartedly agree that this news is not important; the reason I selected it as an object of scorn is because people are discussing it at all. However, to claim the news is not making headlines simply because it is not appearing in Mr. M.'s favorite newspapers and magazines does not mean it isn't appearing elsewhere. And however insignificant these elsewheres may be, they are still places for headlines, be they blogs, news sites, small town papers or any other insignificant or poor quality media. Just because you don't read it doesn't mean it isn't there.

Mr. M., I am not disingenuous in my blog and I was not so in that particular post; you and I just happen to disagree on what "making headlines" means, and I certainly feel it means a lot more than simply showing up in the New York Times or the Boston Globe. Whilst these newspapers are indeed a far better read than Naples News, it doesn't mean that Naples News is not a newspaper itself (fortunately, however, one that I don't have to read).

Brazil's Forced Democracy, continued

However, to be fair with Brazil, our American friend's democracy is pretty fucking shitty. Actually, to see just how incredibly crappy it is, one should notice what it is exactly that has been making headlines when the country is near the brink of financial and economic disaster. Please, folks, follow the link and be awed at the awesomeness of American stupidity.

Brazil's Forced Democracy

Today, at around 15:45, I was forced to vote. Not that I wouldn't've, since I think the voting process is worth one's while, but being forced to vote (or forced to justify one's absence from the voting booth) is nothing short of pathetic; it is the acknowledgment by our political class that our democracy is a sham, that people would refrain from voting in droves if they had the opportunity. This country is a fucking joke, there is not a pubic hair of seriousness to our public lives and affairs. Our political institutions have as their sole goal their own continuity, and those that participate in them are, when not absolute scum, well-meaning individuals who face impossible odds when they attempt any positive change. Our political class takes positive and negative freedom and mixes it all up into whatever stew will guarantee them a job for the next four years and therefor some immediate monetary gain and a few more years at the possibility of racketeering or trafficking of influence.

It's not like our American friends to the north are any better, but they at least have democracy at the local levels, electing judges, sheriffs, and what-not. All we do is either elect clowns or those who are flat-out the scum of the Earth. I'm tired of this shit, but quite depressed at the notion that it is, at least from my perspective, impossible to change. But that's why we have meteors, I suppose.