I’m not your average American citizen. I am a writer. I write poems, fiction, and creative nonfiction, and I aspire to teach college-level creative writing courses. I’m also a photographer and have worked on freelance photography for Sandlapper magazine. I consider myself one of a minority breed in America: I am a creative, artsy, open-minded yet opinionated individual who sees the state of American society in a pessimistic way.
It should be no surprise that we artistic folk are generally cynical. How cynical can we be? I decided to go to the group of people I knew could demonstrate this best: my own tight-knit circle of friends.
Cory Roche, 26, put it bluntly. “I don’t trust anyone who seeks power. Power oftentimes attracts the corruptible. Democracies are inherently misguided because the majority is not always right.”
Roche is an amateur musician who composes industrial and progressive metal music. You would probably never hear his music on a S.C. public radio station, but his natural talent is undeniable. He also dabbles in photography.
Brittany Bingham, 22, an amateur writer and photographer, elaborated on Roche’s ideas. “I don’t feel like politics are what they should be,” she lamented.
“To me, it’s more about business than government. It’s supposed to be ‘for the people, by the people,’ but it’s more about the numbers: Who has the most money? Who has the dirt on whom?”
I completely agree with Bingham and Roche. America is far from the country of the free that it was once meant to be. For instance, modern Americans barely have freedom of religion, and even though I’m allowed to say I’m not Christian, I usually don’t so that I won’t be discriminated against (I hope saying it here doesn’t ruin my future career!).
So which 2008 presidential candidate offers the most hope to alternative youths with innately suspicious views on modern American society?
It’s definitely hard to choose a candidate when you feel that the state of the nation is in almost irreversible decay. As of Dec. 7, the war in Iraq has caused 3,886 tragedies in families across America, according to http://icasualties.org/oif/ (which gets its tally from the Department of Defense). The deaths of those American soldiers might seem almost irrelevant now because citizens have gotten used to their loss. The troops aren’t the only ones dying, either. According to http://www.iraqbodycount.org, roughly 78,071-85,055 civilians, including innocent women and children, have been killed. Some of these deaths were even caused by the American troops who are supposed to protect them.
And, because of this war, according to nationalpriorities.org, the nation has added over $475 billion to the national debt (already over $9 trillion, according to treasurydirect.gov).
Roche is “neither Democratic nor Republican.” He agrees “more with the Democratic positions” on the issues, though. Bingham strives to “vote for the person whose stance on the issues is most like” hers, but she “would probably vote Democratic.”
I also spoke to John Dunn, a 25-year-old amateur sketch and tattoo artist who has voted in the past two presidential elections. Dunn said that he used to ignore politics because he was skeptical of his ability to create change, but as he has grown, he has become adamant about participating in political elections. To Dunn, none of the candidates is perfect, so the election has become a choice between “the lesser of two evils” for skeptics like him. I agree, because for me, choosing a candidate to vote for is not about who has the best policies on the issues. It’s about who has the least detrimental policies.
“The Republicans thrive on trickery,” Dunn explained. “We’ve had nothing but white males in the White House, and we need diversity.” Dunn goes on to say that U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton is the best candidate choice for people who are liberal-minded. Dunn is “going for Hillary” because she played a major role behind Bill Clinton’s successful presidency. Dunn believes Clinton’s was one of the “finest presidential eras” due to the booming economy and low government deficit.
To Dunn and many other American skeptics, no other candidate seems as confident in his policy as Clinton is in hers. Because she has already been in the White House, Dunn feels that Clinton is more prepared to deal professionally with stressors of the presidency, especially with the support of her former-president husband.
Bingham, however, sees Clinton differently. Bingham agrees that Clinton is a strong woman and a good candidate for president, but Clinton’s tough exterior makes Bingham wary.
“If she is so strong in her beliefs, she may not be willing to admit a mistake or take other Americans’ opinions into consideration,” Bingham clarifies. “The ability to change one’s mind is a forward-thinking effort that might move this country ahead. Just look at President Bush. He has done a lot during his term without the support of the majority. I don’t want to be stuck with that for yet another four years.” Bingham therefore places her early confidence in U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, whom she considers more willing to accept and support the majority opinion on issues, even if it differs from his own.
For creative, cynical Americans (and not surprising to me), the trend seems to be to vote Democratic. Republicans are too conservative for our open minds and liberal ideas on personal issues such as abortion and gay marriage. But each candidate has a different appeal to different people based on his or her actual stances on the issues. That fact just mimics the nationwide trend.
I concur with Bingham’s comment, “Having two candidates, such as Obama, an African-American, and Clinton, a woman, leads us to the possibility of taking this country in a different direction,” (which, in my opinion, we desperately need). Bingham goes on to say, “Hopefully, if either is elected, he or she will put the choice in the issues back into the hands of the American people.”
After all, “What the government does directly affects the country’s citizens,” Bingham concludes. I truly hope that the American public is smart enough to agree with us and choose a president with the courage and ideals needed to pull us out of our diminishing societal situation.
By MARESA WHITEHEAD
