Empty Lapels and Empty Minds

Dear George,

All elections turn on trivia. This is because our corporate elites are able to frame the message with the cooperation of their media lackeys. So it was that one of the deciding factors in Pennsylvania was Obama’s empty lapel.

There are certain things America expects from her candidates, and one of them is a crippled patriotism based on greed and exploitation as symbolized by a flag pin in the lapel. It is a patriotism of bile that appeals to the basest instincts of the nation. It is a patriotism that builds walls along its borders, joining the other wall builders of the world. (The Soviet Union started the practice in Berlin and both America and Israel have made an art of it.)

The lapel pin signifies the patriotism of the scoundrel who uses his patriotism as cover for his efforts to undercut the freedoms that have made America so problematic.

This is the patriotism that has given us the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act. It is the patriotism that has made torture a household word and has brought out all that is ugly and vile in the American psyche.

The flag pin the scoundrel wears in his lapel is a flag soaked in the piss of tyranny and oppression. Its red stripes are the blood of the innocent women and children who have sacrificed their lives so America could flex its military muscle.

Obama’s problem is too much truthiness. His empty lapel shines a light on America’s sins, and it will not be tolerated, just as his speaking the truth about America’s bitterness will not be tolerated. There are only two things the public looks for in an election campaign: happy talk about America and trash talk about the other candidate.

Both HillBill and McCain know the score. They know how to press all their right buttons and mouth all the approved buzz words. Both know better than to tell the truth.

Trust me, George, the party hacks will make sure HillBill gets the nomination. This will unite your base and sweep McCain into the White House on a shit-stream of trivia. Paranoia has so conditioned the public that they will never stray too far from the candidate who rattles the loudest saber.

The successful candidate is the one who can make the ugly beautiful. It is the candidate who can continue our long tradition of rogue administrations that serve the narrow interests of our elite. It is the candidate who can recite the shibboleths that soothe and distract. In the end, it is the candidate who can scam the American people into voting against their interests.

It is the lack of these skills that will cost Obama the nomination.

Your admirer,
Belacqua Jones