Friday, October 17, 2008

Edge of the Abyss?

The United States is at challenging place in its history. The nation is currently gripped by a severe fiscal crisis brought on by an overvalued and severely inflated economy, deeply in debt as a direct result of decades of unwise choices fueled by a blinding adherence to short term profitability regardless of long term consequences.

It is at such times that distressed and fearful populations look towards strong leadership to calm their anxieties and resolve the crisis. The current government, led by the extremely incompetent and socially maladjusted Mr. Bush, has been thoroughly discredited.

There is a presidential race now going on with two remarkably different individuals vying for the position of President. Senator Barrack Obama appears honest and resolute and proposes a kind of leadership that encompasses the widely divergent population that comprises the US.

The other candidate, Senator John McCain, is using extremely vitriolic and aggressive tactics to agitate his constituency in an attempt to mobilize support through fear and anxiety.

This is a worrisome time ripe for extremism as has been shown in other societies at analogous times of widespread distress. It is my deepest hope that the American people will ultimately remain calm and level-headed and will choose wisely. We can not successfully survive this ordeal and adopt meaningful solutions unless reason prevails. Relying on emotion and mob mentality may offer transient relief but will ultimately bring only grief.

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