Be prepared

“Don’t let John Kerry take your guns!”

You might remember that bumper sticker from 2004. (There are some pickups and SUVs around here that still have it.) It troubled me on several fronts. For one, it cynically assumed a certain level of ignorance on the part of its audience regarding the way that our government works; for another, it didn’t even reflect Kerry’s policies accurately; for another, it was a blatant appeal to fear.

But the most disturbing thing about such messages is this: they work.

Just so you know up front—if you didn’t already—I’m not a Democrat; I’m Wayne County chair for the Green Party, and most likely our candidate this year will be Cynthia McKinney (www.runcynthiarun.org). So don’t assume that I’m a Barack Obama supporter.

But I do have to say that I am truly astounded, and deeply disturbed, by the level of rumor, fear and innuendo that is being spread about Obama through emails and websites. (Just check out how many Obama-related items are posted at rumor-checking site www.snopes.com, and note how many of them are partial or complete fabrications.)

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some poor soul out there gets so alarmed and frightened by these insinuations that he does something truly drastic. Make no mistake about it: if anything happens to Obama or those around him because of all these suspicions and rumors, every person who has forwarded a false or misleading statement about him will have some blood on their hands.

You may well have valid reasons not to support Senator Obama, or Senator McCain for that matter—that’s fine. That’s the way things are supposed to work in a democratic republic. If you don’t agree with someone’s positions and policies, then find a candidate you can support, and work your backside off for him or her. But please be sure that your opposition is based on fact, not on some kind of baseless fear or unsubstantiated rumor. Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated, to be led around by the nose by demagogues and false prophets. Do your research, evaluate what you hear, and take nothing for granted.

And whoever wins, if he wins despite your opposition, don’t panic on the one hand, or withdraw and stop being involved on the other. Ralph Nader said it best: “If you don’t turn on to politics, then politics will turn on you.” Only when we are all involved in a useful, respectful, and productive dialog will the full promise of the America created by our founders be realized.

The thing to remember is this: no one person, whether politician or pundit, is going to either save us or destroy us—McCain, Obama, or anyone else. The things that are most wrong with our country, like the things that are most right in this country, are deeply systemic; they are ingrained, built into the way we do things, not dependent on who happens to be “in charge” at any one moment.

But there are things that could destroy us as a nation, among them hatred, ignorance and fear. And there are political players who are perfectly willing, even eager, to utilize those forces to gain advantage, despite the risk of unleashing chains of events over which they have no control.

The good news is that such tactics are easily countered by determination and vigilance, by being watchful, thoughtful, considerate and courageous. This election is not so much about who will run this country as it is about what kind of country we want to be—and that question will be settled, for better or worse, before anyone casts a vote in November.

- Skip Mendler