Happy day of the [politically and economically] dead

Here we are, one day after Halloween, on “All Hallows Day” in some places, a/k/a “Day of the Dead” in others. Given that I’m down to no more than a few dozen of you (if that) who are still likely to be reading this, there’s no real reason to sugar-coat here.
And so, it seems, many Americans have figured that out… Based on polls like this, we can apparently conclude that 75% of those surveyed believe things suck right now (although the bizarrely American pollyannish streak has 58% believing things will be just fine in a year)… we can expect those that vote tomorrow to take things out on the party nominally in power, the Democrats (rather than, of course, on the party actually in power, the Republicans Rockefeller family plutocrats who run corporate America which, of course, since that party controls both of the nominal parties, can’t actually be “voted out” by any means other than citizens either taking to the streets in protest, or taking themselves out of the money economy.)
Having spent the last two years in a desperate quest to convince me that every minute of effort (such as spending the last two federal election cycles in Pennsylvania on Election Day) and every nickel I contributed to Democrats and Democratic causes was not only unappreciated, but a huge mistake, as not only issue after issue I hold dear was thrown back in my face, but the White House itself felt the need to say that any dissent to its corporate program on liberal grounds by dirty hippies was to be derisively dismissed…. let’s just say… I’m sold! I’m done helping the Democrats; I’ll be staying home tomorrow. I’ll be voting– but only because there are state and local elections at stake that, unlike the federal ones, might make a difference in my own life; I plan on leaving the federal lines blank. After decades of Democratic Party attempts to convince me, the Obama Administration has finally done it and convinced me: there is no meaningful difference between the two parties on anything important, be it advancing the interests of investment banks and the military industrial complex, the shredding of the Constitution, or, of course, asinine recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance when actual considered action is required. I wish I’d’ve been listening sooner: I could have saved myself some time, effort and money. Well… better late than never.
And just as our political system, as far as I’m concerned, is on its last legs (if not past them), our economic system is not going to be far behind, as Brother Dmitri reminds us… we’ve done nothing to diversify our economy away from oil (foreign or domestic), and, since Earth ain’t making any more of it,,, we’ll be running out pretty soon, and well… things won’t be pretty.
The only thing we can be absolutely certain of is that the collapse of our political and economic systems will not be met by any kind of rational response. Many can take delight, or misery, at the results of the elections tomorrow… but why? Regardless of which of the two parties our plutocrats allow us to have that “prevails” tomorrow, we still won’t ease up on either our program of exporting homicide or our program of importing petroleum (and both on money borrowed from the Chinese.) Yes… the benevolent incompetence of Reid and Pelosi will likely be replaced by the malevolent incompetence of McConnell and Boehner… but… so what? Is anything going to fundamentally change? Other than possibly for the worse (and that, regardless of the electoral results).
So… in some sense, much of this might end up being liberating. Many if not most of us were being ground under by industrial capitalism as it was… maybe we’ll have a fighting chance in what comes after. Who knows? The one thing not to do is to somehow think “conventional wisdom,” such as the pollyannish conclusion that life can magically go on exactly as it has before even amidst evironmental, economic and political collapse, is anything other than a suicide pact. If I can do you any service at all, I’ll just say– do something to “take yourself out.” In my case, I’ve started to grow vegetables on my roof, but am way behind on where I need to be… and yet, I still know that most people won’t even start until things have already collapsed.
Here’s the thing: Americans are far smarter than our elites give us credit for; after all, we generally don’t vote, and we don’t like soccer. So we at least have something to work with. But we’ll have to at least start acknowledging the reality of our situation, and start taking action, preferably starting yesterday. And on that… well, I’ll just hope for the best, I guess.
This has been…”Happy day of the [politically and economically] dead.”
Update: In a baseball World Series no one really cared about (since the New York Yankees weren’t playing), just 53 years after the team left New York for greener pastures Westward, Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco Giants have defeated George W. Bush’s Texas Rangers 4 games to 1. Boo ya.