Health and dis-ease

“God is on OUR side” is a sentiment probably felt by any and every country involved in armed conflict.  God intended us to have enough land for OUR people (Hitler and Austria, United States and western expansion).  God intended that OUR religion dominate and that others disappear (just about everywhere.)  God intended that OUR ethnic group or race dominate and all others get the bleep out or be extinguished from the face of the earth (just about everywhere).  When you read the plain words, don’t they sound about as immature as a two-year-old with the gimmes?  So, why did and do countries adopt the manifest destiny philosophy?

Jingoism is belligerent, aggressive, and selfish nationalism (please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingoism for a fine definition and discussion.)  What a bizarre name it is for the concept!  How about patrarrogance? (Patriotic arrogance) Or egoarroblindagance?  Or xenobigotrism?  The United States certainly was filled with it after 9/11, although it had always been lurking under the surface of the consciousness.  Soon after the attack, copious cars were displaying American flags, especially ones which could be inexpensively purchased and hooked over the window.  Although it truly only proved that people could afford the flag and could figure out how to attach it, it seemed to represent an ugly “me first” attitude about America, its sources for oil, and its willingness to use military force to get what it wants.

However, many years have passed.  I have learned from the experience.  I am not particularly proud of this, but I will be honest:  before the attack on the twin towers, I felt that we were magically protected on our own continental boundaries (sorry, Hawa’ai and Alaska.)   It was as if I believed that a Star Trek force field was up, protecting the mainland.  Therefore, the invasion of 9/11 destroyed a faith I had.  Citizens of other countries probably would laugh at my naiveté, but the events truly led to a loss of innocence for me.  Now I am sadder and hopefully wiser.  (For example, when the four –day ban on air traffic ended, the first time I heard jet engines above, I had these thoughts:  “What is that sound?  Oh, I know that sound: it is the noise of an airplane.  I wonder what it is doing.  I think it will probably crash into the side of my house and into the bathroom where I am standing.”  That sequence NEVER would have occurred to me before Sept 11^th.)

Many of us are wiser.  (Just a few still think that pouring money into the military complex solves all problems.  From them, I get the Internet anti-Democrat jibes and “Pray for the soldiers” emails.)  Most of us are now recognizing that the song “God Bless America” is passé and the new song needs to be “God Bless the World.”

What excitement would result if we could have the level of enthusiasm that we witnessed for this year’s presidential election on every Election Day.  What created it?  What magic did we spin to get people to the polls?  I witnessed a few differences this year which contributed to the increased turnout.  (For a fuller account of my experience, see http://hubpages.com/hub/Volunteer-on-Election-Day-2008-USA .)

First, there was a concerted effort by many organizations to register eligible voters.  The Democratic Party perceives that increased voter participation is favorable to it.  Therefore, it supported registration endeavors.  In addition, organizations such as Rock the Vote and Move On tackled the cause by setting up registration tables in stores, along the streets, at workplaces.  With our incredible computer-empowered “click-it” world, citizens won’t tolerate difficult processes.  By going to them, the nation was served.  More citizens became empowered to participate in elections.

Also, the presidential candidates and their running mates were extremely interesting.  This was not another boring white men’s race.  Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, was a fountain of energy.  She is young, good looking, and was a huge surprise to most voters.  Furthermore, her life experience growing up in Alaska is not familiar to most of us.  Therefore, she has novel perspectives and verbal expressions which kept the American audience coming back for more.  On the Democratic side, there was a viable black candidate.  This was history making – just to have Barack Obama running.  Obama also had an unusual upbringing – one to which most of us cannot relate.  He lived in several countries (and continents) as a child and authored several books.  The possibility that a black person could make it to the White House in our lifetime kept many citizens engaged in the election.

I also credit Obama’s race with hooking many citizens of color into voting for the first time.  If someone who “looked like” them could be the chief executive of the land, they were interested.  If the quintessential “American dream” that any of our children can grow up to be president was possibly true, citizens of color were doing their part by registering and voting.  And what a glorious outpouring occurred at the polls.

Now, the reality is that we will not always have fascinating or entertaining presidential candidates.  We may not always have women or minorities on the ticket.  Nevertheless, I hope we will sustain the energy level of registering new voters.  If we succeed in doing that, no matter which party prevails, the country will win.