American politics and Vietnam today

This isn’t really about Vietnam but is kind of my formal exit from politics… Until that nonsense pulls me back in.

Here in Vietnam no one talks about politics, probably because there is little they could do about it anyway. But is there really anything Americans can do about politics? At least in the long run?

Having been away from daily political discussion has allowed me to look at American politics in a very different way. What I have concluded is that political parties and ideologies are no different than religion. If someone accepts a belief, lets say for example universal health care, is good OR bad, there is absolutely nothing that can be said to change that persons mind. That person will also spin information in ways that are sometimes incredibly unacademic to “prove” that their view is the best one, be that supporting their view or attacking their opponents. The way in which politicians make pawns of and/or belittle actual academics to their further their cause angers me to no end

Let’s take the new socialized health care situation. I am going to be honest, I actually have no idea what is in the bill, nor do I really care, and that also won’t be relevant for what I am going to say. Here is what will happen. Since the Democrats now have a super majority, the bill will pass and the US will have some form of socialized health care. Like all new laws it will receive mixed reviews. But since this law is blatantly socialist and will take years to iron out, hundreds of Republicans will use it as a way to win seats from Dems who voted for it. This will happen regardless of any objective research that comes out, because those studies won’t be mentioned in campaign ads and people are to damn lazy to look it up for themselves.

And to be honest with you I have no idea why Republicans are actually trying to stop this from being passed, as far as I can see it is the best chance they have to reverse the catastrophic damage Bush did and win some seats.

The other thing that has always been present in in American politics, and is very present in the new health care debate, is the “what if?” question. This brings me right back to Vietnam. In the 1960’s it was “what if this obscure third world country turns communist?” so we spent billions and 50,000+ Americans were killed, there was riots in the streets and all hell broke loose. Then we lost and they actually became communist. The country’s actual name is ”The Socialist Republic of Vietnam” guess what this socialist country doesn’t have? Free health care, free school, social security, unemployment benefits, price controls, and the list goes on. Remember the Hanoi Hilton prison, where McCain resided when he was in Vietnam? it is now a high rise office/condo building. In many ways it is much more capitalist, especially at a primal level than, than America is.

My point is that just because something is implemented, it does not mean that everything people say is going to happen will. In fact most of it probably won’t, especially in America where the balance of power is always shifting.

You know what you can do if things actually do get really bad? You can move out of the country, that’s right just leave, I did it and I am just fine. And since when the hell is it unamerican to go to unexplored territory and set up a new life for yourself, hell that is how the country grew to be what it is today. That rational makes fighting over politics pretty worthless.

To be honest I am happy for the break, because even if we Americans have freedom of press, our system is rigged so we break even in the end. I say forget about it, sit back, watch the fireworks, and maybe try to make some money off the idiots in Washington. That is my rational self interest.