While listening to public radio, they were running spots to promote the Gubernatorial Debates (is that REALLY an accident that the word has “guber” right up front? And who came up with that bastardization of Governor anyway.) Maine has a plethora of candidates running this year… and perhaps its the relatively small size of our state, or my prolific photo habits, but I seem to have met quite a few of them. And that scares me. When you are young you imagine that the people in power, our ‘government’ to be somehow smarter, more capable, more in the know, than you. You trust their abilities. But now I realize that our perception of the ‘ruling class’ is much like the perception of the parents by a toddler. Now, as an adult, you see them for what they really are: just another bunch of schmucks with perhaps only as much grasp on reality as you (if you’re lucky) but dumb enough to pursue a thankless job simply for the glory. God help us. And I’m a friggin atheist.

And furthermore, I have been to Walmart. I have seen what the majority of the voting public looks and acts like. And not to seem elitist, as I am one of them too, but what on earth gives me, and the other 1.2 million dimwits like me wandering around Maine, some with guns in our belts, other with herbal teas, the incredible insight to discern who is the best person to run our state? I can’t figure out cable vs. satellite!? And what makes this equation even better - we base it all on advertisements. Look folks, I know the ad industry. I work in it. I take the pictures to sell you stuff, or people, or ideas. We don’t have a freakin’ clue either.

Summary: This system is wrong. I am not sure our national agenda of pushing democracy on a global scale is all its cracked up to be. There must be a happy medium somewhere between Castro & our screwed up system. By the time someone gets elected in our system, they are so worried about losing the party majority, or getting reelected that they don’t have the balls to stand up and do the hard stuff to make life better. Have to please this one and that one and… oh hell…

End of rant. Time for a beer.