I decided more or less at the last minute to vote on a couple of things. Voted for the president. Voted for a proposition that demands more humane treatment of commercial farm animals. And I voted against Prop 8, which unfortunately passed, and bans gay marriage in California. This morning, in the aftermath of the election, I fired off a rant about the idiocy of a fear-based religion which is still controlling the minds of most of the US population. I'll spare Soma from the rant, but if anyone cares to read it, it's on my Live Journal at...
http://quantumshaman.livejournal.com/#entry_78866
Overall, I see very little purpose in voting these days. The elctions here aren't really decided by "the people", but by the lobbyists and the electoral college, and the candidates with the most $$$ to spend on their campaigns. Voting is just a formality, giving us the illusion that we have "power," when all evidence points sharply in the other direction.
Am I a cynic? You betcha! 
Wrote this prior to reading the whole thread from the past few days. Sorry, folks, but I have to agree with Juhani about a few things - not the least of which is the acceptance of the fact that nothing really changes. We have a new president in the White House, but until the SPIRIT of this country finds itself again, even if Obama really IS the messiah, he will find himself surrounded largely by a population of indulgent sheeple. Sorry - but I've lived here for 53 years, and watched a few presidents come and go - enough to know that the guy in office can serve as a role model, but if the PEOPLE aren't willing to change, then change isn't going to happen at any sort of cultural/social/spiritual level.
Oh, I've watched this election and seen a lot of people telling themselves that "If only we get Obama in the White House, things will change!" What they don't realize is that they are more or less just repeating his campaign slogan. Programming, in other words, though they might even believe it is their own original thought.
Don't get me wrong. I voted for the guy myself - mainly because a good friend of mine knew I wasn't planning to vote at all. Since it didn't really matter to me one way or the other (except I do acknowledge that Palin was one scary old heifer!), I more or less voted for the dude as a favor to my friend (who is far more politically oriented and informed than I would ever pretend to be). So sue me... I'm not politically motivated because, in the grand scheme of things, none of this is going to matter in a million years. But I digress...
Point being - any "leader" is only as good as his "followers". And while I suspect Obama can be a good leader, I utterly lack faith in his potential followers - i.e., the American public. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I rather doubt that will happen. America has been described as a nation that has lost its soul - and after everything I've observed in the course of this election, I am inclined to agree. Until THAT changes, I see very little hope for any real social or cultural raising of awareness.
Sorry to be so "negative", but I don't think rose-colored glasses are going to change the world. Any "change" has to come at the level of spirit - and, sadly, most of the people I encounter these days aren't much interested in spirit. They want their MTV, their fast food wrapped in six layers of packaging, and their comforting little belief systems that come through the rhetoric of their fear-based religion. Not much room for spirit in any of that.
I am very willing to be proven wrong. Please - prove me wrong!
