Tri-merica the Beautiful

Unless you've been living on the moon you must be aware of the political hatchet fight that's been brewing. One of the candidates, now a Vice-Presidential nominee, offered up a plan for bringing home the troops from Iraq, correctly taking the position that Iraq is really three countries cobbled together from three separate and distinct religious factions. They were held hostage by a brutal dictator who was put into power in large part by the US government, because he hated the Iranians and would fight a proxy war with them. When it became financially and politically expedient to stage a preemptive occupation for the benefit of the military-industrial complex and to avenge a father's disgrace, the dictator was removed from power in an illegal war that started with a bang in a barrage of bunker busters, and the burials continue on both sides.

Now back to that proposal: let the three factions return to their sovereign roots and settle their own disputes by pulling out slowly in an orgasmic explosion of democracy. All well and good, assuming the powers that would be are willing to settle long-standing religious and political differences, return to former borders and share oil resources, Iraqi gold, Texas W. Not totally unreasonable although highly unfeasible given the lack of a central government and military, as is the case with the U.S and most other developed countries.

But how really different are we, in terms of irreconcilable beliefs and politics? All the vitriolic campaigning and polarizing positions of our parties cry out loudly and clearly that we are no longer thinking, acting and living as one nation, but three - you see the demographics constantly on the continuous news cycles that spew out the desired data. We are red, blue and undecided, fundamental evangelicals, bible-thumping theologians, and everyone else. The haves, have-less and have-nots. We live in virtually three different countries and mind-sets. How else is it possible for three people to look and listen to the same speech, yet come away with three divergent interpretations? It's as if we live in a modern Tower of Babel, Saddam and Got more,huh? with a mall and movie theater thrown in for good measure. Anesthetize the mind and the body will follow.

The more we "change", the more we stay the same - in stasis, suspended in an amniotic sack of fear. That's the remote control. Scare the bejeezes out of us, and we'll do whatever you want, just keep the evil-doers from our door. The thought is scary, for sure, but if you want real terror, here's a list of statistics gleaned from the web that might give you pause:

The top 10 causes of death in the US are (as of 2005)

Diseases of Heart 28.5%
Malignant Neoplasms (cancer) 22.8%
Cerebrovascular Diseases (stroke) 6.7%
Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases 5.1%
Accidents 4.4%
Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents (41% of all accidents)
Poisoning (16% of all accidents)
Fall (15% of all accidents)
Diabetes Mellitus 3.0%
Influenza and Pneumonia 2.7%
Alzheimer's Disease 2.4%
Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome and Nephrosis (kidney diseases) 1.7%
Septicemia (blood poisoning) 1.4%

That doesn't include the 98,000 deaths due to medical mistakes, and the invisibles who die from exposure, hunger and lack of adequate and affordable health care.

See terrorism listed anywhere? Nope. Yet it is the guiding force of the lives and beliefs of many, who will vote for a person or persons of questionable character based on whom they feel will do best at keeping the boogie-man at bay. There are those who manipulate this to their monetary advantage, knowing full well that they are manufacturing fear for fun and profit.

And then there are those who prefer to place their bets on trying to live as best as possible for as long as possible. All that's needed is the chance, a level playing field. Take care of the basics and they'll roll the dice, as opposed to playing this game of Russian roulette every day. The cards are stacked, and nothing less than a fundamental paradigm shift, not shaft, will make the difference. Instead of cut and run, let's run and cut; things like the deficit, the death rate and financial inequity. Don't just stay the course, alter it, plot a new one that can be re-calibrated for correction. One ship cannot navigate in three directions at once, and a people cannot advance by taking one step forward and two steps back.

Irregardless, we'll know the outcome in two months. Just make a choice and follow through. It's a trifecta we can't afford to lose.