The Mad Seed

"It's not what happens to you - it's what you do about it."

In life, as in political campaigns, the above philosophy applies, lifting the veil on just what, and who, we are as human beings in context to the lives we lead. What's happening to the McCain campaign is clear: Polls are sinking nationally, and in key battleground states, leading to an all but-certain November loss. What his campaign, and his supporters, are doing about it, is also clear: They're getting angry and desperate.

By now, we've all witnessed the scenes from McCain-Palin rallies, especially one from yesterday when an older, white man, clearly incensed by the proverbial writing on the wall, said the following:

"I'm mad. I'm really mad. And what's going to surprise you, it's not the economy. It's the socialists taking over our country. When you have an Obama, Pelosi and the rest of the hooligans up there going to run this country, we have got to have our head examined. It's time that you two are representing us, and we are mad. So, go get them."

This, after a week of nasty, viciousness aimed at de-Americanizing Obama, by referencing his "Afro-centric" former pastor, his associations with a former self-acknowledged domestic terrorist whose alleged crime occurred when Obama was eight years old, and the constant questioning of his and his wife's patriotism.

Unpack the wildly cheered statement above for just a moment and consider how ugly things have gotten. Democrats, as led by Obama and Pelosi, are socialist hooligans who need to be 'gotten.' What does that mean exactly? (Especially when placed in context to the chants of "terrorist" and "kill him" that have erupted at similar republican rallies?) Can anyone defend the idea that actual harm to Democrats, and Obama specifically, isn't at least implicit at these rallies? What exactly will McCain supporters, or Obama detractors, do about what is happening to them and the country they've run into the ground? We should all do more than shudder to think - we should recognize it as the call to action it is.

I'm no fan of Pelosi's, but prefer her steely magnolia to Bush's wilting Texas rose any day. And, though socialism has replaced liberal as the right's new four-letter word, consider for a moment if its central tenet, in light of Wall Street's capitalist collapse, is truly worthy of inciting violence: "Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth into a small section of society who control capital, and creates an unequal society. All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly."

But, then again, what McCain, Palin and their supporters fear more than anything is the creation of a government that actively works to fulfill its promise that all men are created equal and are, therefore, worthy of unencumbered pursuit of certain unalienable rights. Just such a government was formed two hundred thirty-some years ago - ours. Ironic that these same folks are the embittered patriots now waging a war for the soul of the very nation founded on their fears.

The rest of us, we hooligans, need to be on guard - not just for the honor and safety of our candidates, but also of our nation. The seed of their anger and desperation is being sown. We didn't choose it to happen to us, but we absolutely must do something about it.