The Unreasonable Man

..the people of Haiti and those working on their behalf”, said president Obama just now on CNN.

Seems to me that it was God who caused the earthquake (insurers call an earthquake an “act of God”, after all) in the first place, so why would he want to help now? He’s pretty schizophrenic, if you ask me.

Of course the president has to talk about God. This is required in the USA. Even if you are an atheist (which as an intelligent man he must surely be). What you think is not important; what you say, how you pander to interests, is.

But he does not pander to mine. President Obama is the man who promised to close Guantanamo in his first year. Hasn’t happened. Politician. Liar. First it was close it in the first 100 days, then it was in the first year; it was always “no more military commissions”. Right. Credibility = zero.

I am not sure why if I break a promise during a minor commercial transaction, say when I promise to pay for a pair of surgical stockings, or a new Metallica CD that I have ordered in, I can be taken to court and will be made to pay; but when I make empty promises in the commission of becoming president of the United States, it is glossed over and allowed “because, yes, it was difficult”.

“I intended to pay my taxes,your honour, but it was more difficult than I thought”. “I intended to keep up my car payments, your honour, but it was more difficult than I had anticipated”. Think those would stand up in court? But in politics, we apparently expect lying and we condone it.

When I say “we”, I exclude “me”. I will never vote for a lying politician, which is why I did not vote in the last election. Nor will I say kind things about them. Mr Obama held out some hope of being an honest politician who would keep his promises. Phuh, shows you how naive I am.

This of course adds to the sense of betrayal. And yes, US politicians matter to me as a non-American. The US is, after al, the imperial superpower and much of what we do worldwide is because the US dictates it.

And this is true in so many ways. The way I consume media is US-dictated. Air travel has been made into police state bullying because of US-imposed rules. My car’s emission system and my car’s inability to start more than 20 times when the special liquid is out is US-dictated. Even the dial on my watch is US-dictated (it has a tritium dial but the US decided years ago that radioactive tritium is not allowed anymore or you go on the terrorists list, so the Swiss had to drop it).

If I were American, I would ask why my nation is so resented worldwide.  After all, America is a great nation, the land of the free, the land of free enterprise, the birthplace of Apple and Playboy and Hollywood and The Grateful Dead.

I guess the lesson is: imposing your will on others always creates resentment. How about learning from others instead? But I fear that will never happen in America, too many of whose citizens think Africa is a country.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 11:42 am and is filed under Politics and social, Travel.