Several years ago I took a shortcut along the back roads of southern Indiana and got hopelessly lost. After driving in circles for awhile, I reached a fork in the road and not knowing which way to go, I saw a farmer in a field not far away. “I’m trying to get back to Evansville, does it make any difference which road I take?” I asked
“Not to me it don’t,” he answered sardonically.
I thought of that farmer’s answer the other day and it occurred to me that more than half the people in this country would give the same answer to the question, “Does it make any difference who I vote for, Bush or Gore?”
What goes on here? Why do so few people bother to go the polls? Could it be that all those people are giving the right answer. It doesn’t really matter who wins.
Let’s look at the issues.
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Defense:—We are spending nearly $300 billion a year so the military can fight wars on two fronts at the same time. The only problem is there is no enemy on any front. Does anybody believe that either Bush or Gore will give us the long promised peace dividend so long as defense contractors are getting rich?
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Education:—Very important but it’s a local and state issue. Neither Bush nor Gore can have much influence here. Can it be that most people understand this despite all the reform rhetoric? Will the huge surplus be used to repair schools, hire teachers, and buy books? Don’t hold your breath.
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Health Care:— Today there are more than 40 million Americans uninsured. Four years from now there will still be more than 40 million uninsured. I don’t hear anyone talking about universal health coverage. There are some fifteen hundred insurance companies that would fight to their deaths against that.
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Prescription Drugs: —Both candidates lament how seniors have to choose between buying life saving drugs and paying the rent. Both have plans to address this: Gore will expand Medicare, Bush gives seniors a multitude of poor choices. Non-voters have decided that Congress won’t pass either plan after the rich drug companies pump their millions into the debate. (Haven’t you heard, “keep the government out of our medicine cabinet.”)
The list could go on and on. Tax cuts for the wealthy and billions for the military industrial complex trump health and education programs every time. Why have elections? The corporations go through this ritual every four years, buying the politicians and their parties with huge bundles of soft money. Candidates with bold and progressive ideas are laughed at all the way to the sidelines. In the boardrooms it’s, “Billions for defense but not one cent for the people.”
Does it make any difference whom you vote for? Not to me it don’t.
