tantastik dot org

In various caricatures of McCain and Obama, they are often depicted as the erratic Captain Kirk, and the logical Dr. Spock. Its uncanny how the similarities stack up, from their prose, their personalities and their actions. Did Gene Roddenberry have a brief episode of clairvoyance and see this election coming? How could it have been foretold in such eerily accurate ways?

When Captain Kirk noted in quiet reflection his feelings towards the Klingons, he said, “I’ve never trusted Klingons, and I never will.” This quote was used to convict him of murdering the Klingon Chancellor and he was exiled to a frozen wasteland. Nearly a decade ago, John McCain was quoted as saying something quite nearly as despicable towards the Vietnamese people. ”I hate the gooks,” McCain said in response to a question from reporters aboard his campaign bus. “I will hate them as long as I live.” Supposedly, he is allowed to do this because he was a POW.

He qualified his comment by saying, he only meant his captors. As one reporter noted, what if he had been captured by Nigerians? Would he call them “niggers” and then explain that his derogatory slander applied only to those Nigerians that captured him? How would that have gone over with the rest of the country?

His ignorance is further revealed in his choice of slur. The term “gook” is a bastardization of a racial slur against Koreans who in their native tongue refer to themselves as “Han-guk saram.” The bigotry in the USA continues to defy all intellect and reason without reprimand. All of this passes by without notice because of the passivity that minorities have afforded to their taskmasters coupled with the moral values that a nation of supposed Christians promotes. 

My family came across the waters on a boat, hounded by Thai pirates, chased out of country by our own people. Japanese war machines ravaged China and did unspeakable horrors to millions of muted victims of my own race. Yet we continue to rise above and become better humans for it. We don’t spread hatred, we don’t pass generalizations on a race and incite further violence. We evolve.

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.” Robert Kennedy: Delivering News of King’s Death (NPR)

I’ve been obsessing slightly over this new kid on the stump (NKOTS). I’ve watched mostly all of his speeches, even his horrible attempts at comedy at the Alfred E. Smith dinner (McCain was much funnier). I’ve read through most of his speeches and transcripts, trying to draw parallels to former presidents. Sure, he says “two hundred and twenty-one” instead of “eleven score and one”. But he still evokes the spirit of those men in his eloquence and rhetoric. In fact, he might even have the ears of Lincoln who was described as, ”a wiry lad with a shock of unruly hair, big ears and highwater pants.”

He is a master at public speaking, reaching near heights of Hallelujah-esque moments. I suppose he has learned his lessons well from the gospel churches of his youth. What Obama really needs, is a travelling choir of women who look remarkably similar to Whoopi Goldberg to follow him around wherever he goes. Some people need an entourage, others need a gospel choir.

It is no great surprise, the level of support McCain is still garnering, nor is it a great surprise the pundits who relentlessly defend his campaign tactics. The great nation of USA boasts a remarkable 29% of people with college-level education. The correlation between this is self-evident by their choice of the incumbent president for the past 8 years. So how can Obama win against the crooks and liars of American political system? I hope you are all just as excited to witness a true miracle take place in the next two weeks. Clouds parting, lightning striking, whatever form it may come in it will need to be a miracle of mass proportions for this unlikely candidate to take over a nation of sheep.

How odd, that we are so obsessed with American politics. Although Canadians aren’t included in that report, I can personally attest to the levels of quiet stalking we have done in waiting for Nov. 4 to come. Canada is just another one of America’s typical Facebook friends, scanning through your photos and monitoring your status updates, waiting for the twitter that reads, “America has a new president.” Hopefully, he’ll be smart enough to wear Kevlar® everywhere he goes.

“That’s what hope is. That’s what hope is, imagining, and then fighting for, and then working for, struggling for what did not seem possible before.” - Feb 19, 2008 Houston, TX

A Less Guarded Barack Obama