The Trials and Tribulations of the not-so-New Bear Icon

"[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she's just trying to save the planet. We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet -- we didn't need Nancy Pelosi to do that," - Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican Congreswoman.

I'm so fracking tired of idiots with the keys to the car. My dream of the elections of 2008 is that the idiots like this are sent packing. I don't have a lot of hope here, but good god we're running down a path that leads to oblivion.

This isn't a Republican/Democrat thing. This isn't even a religious problem to me. Sure, her quote brings up her religion, which she's more than happy to promote and even more so happy to hide behind. She's using religion not to uplift, or to understand the world, but to hide behind her ignorance, nee, stupidity. She's saying, I don't have a solution to the climate crisis, or any crisis, but I don't have to worry about that, my beliefs are enough to make me right on this issues.

It's more than just a shaking head response I want to give. I want to just scream out loud.

I want the people running this country to be smarter than I am. The problem is they don't run for office. They sit behind the scenes and get into the administration through the back doors, either through lobbying, working for a candidate or being appointed to positions within the administration, but since they are smart, they don't run for office. There's too much work in having to play to Joe and Janet Sixpack, who would rather vote in a buddy than someone they would consider elite or a brainiac.

Our founding fathers seemed to understand that the masses weren't to be trusted totally. They made roadblocks in selecting a representative government, including having the Senate be appointed by state legislatures and of course the electoral college.

Growing up I think we were looking at the last dash of time where the intelligent, the truly smart were seen as heroes. The engineers and scientists that brought us a better life, better understanding, brought a trip to the moon and the most fearsome weapon known. We still feted these people, but since then we've tried to play the Fanfare for the Common Man, and at this point, it seems to our detriment.

I'm tired of seeing people like Al Gore played by the media as a fool. He brings up actual, rational arguments, and we get responses like Bachmann's. Oh, we don't need to do anything. It will all go back to normal. God wouldn't let us mess up the world beyond repair.

I think Gore's arguments get shriller and more doom-filled just because he is trying to be heard above the masses of people who don't understand science and work to put down what they don't understand. We get arguments that we shouldn't teach evolution and should replace it with mysticism. It's taking an evolutionary step back because somewhere along the line...well, let's just say that it seems DEVO was right.

What I don't get from those who would use religion as a way to hide from the world's problems is that the world's religious texts have a great respect for our planet and urge their followers to be good stewards of it. Free will seems to be coupled with a responsibility that is not longer followed. If it really does come down to the earth in the Balance, and we really do reach the tipping point where life on the planet is endangered, are you just going to wait for the Rapture, are are you going to wonder why we didn't do something about it earlier.

I don't get this bit where we just need to keep using fossil fuels, and we don't need to do anything further. To me it's giving up, a failure of a society to change and grow, but yet that's one of the main arguments of this political season.

We've done ourselves a great disservice electing congress people and presidents more on their average joe status "He's like one of us! He likes the Olympics!" than actually being able to deal with a crisis. I need people who are able to work through the problems and actually take action on the difficult issues, not just enjoy their status as lawmakers. We already have celebrities. (Yes, I realize that argument can be damaging to both current presidential candidates, and yes, I realize that both the movies Idiocracy and Wall-E have touched on these themes)

It's funny, we keep saying that we are a nation of common people, and we prize that common man, but what is popular in our entertainment and sports culture? Superhuman people, beautiful people. In some ways we still prize the above average in strength, speed and beauty, but we don't seem to do the same when it comes to intelligence. What's wrong with us?