Clinging to My Martinis and My Constitution and My Antipathy Towards a Government That Doesn’t Represent Me
Posted by Mary Mancini on April 13, 2008 under Liberate Your Radio from The Right | 
You want to talk about bitter? OK, let’s talk about bitter.
- I’m bitter that the news most people watch and the news most people read chooses to report on ill-chosen words of one presidential candidate rather than the disastrous foreign policy views of another (Oh, really, John McCain, Sadr’s “influence has been on the wane for a long time?” And is he a Sunni or a Shia, sir?).
- I’m bitter that the news most people watch and the news most people read chooses to report on ill-chosen words of one presidential candidate rather than the Bush administration’s deliberate attempt to cover their torture-monkey asses with legal briefs.
- I’m bitter that my government chooses torture over moral superiority.
- I’m bitter that five years ago “major combat operations” were declared over.
- I’m bitter that only 28 percent of Americans know the number of American casualties in Iraq.
- I’m bitter that no one knows the real number of Iraqi civilian casualties.
- I’m bitter that as the war in Iraq rages on, the guys in charge choose to represent “significant progress” with charts and graphs while ignoring the carnage on the ground.
- I’m bitter that 17 of the nation’s 50 largest cities have high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent.
- I’m bitter that 1 in every 100 Americans is incarcerated.
- I’m bitter that we spend $435 million a day, $3 billion a week, $12 billion a month, on the Iraq war and nothing to improve the education or the lives of our citizens.
- I’m bitter that I can’t be critical of our government’s policies and leaders - you know, the people that work for us - without being told that I should love my country more or move to Cuba.
- I’m bitter that I can’t get close enough to Dick Cheney to wag my finger in his face in response to “So?”
- I’m bitter that more people in Tennessee, including some legislators, choose to care about the integrity of the lottery instead of the integrity of our elections.
- I’m bitter that we’re still lagging behind (”studying the science?) instead of leading on global climate change.
- I’m bitter that there are still some adults in this country who believe it better to attack those who ask the hard questions about race rather than have meaningful conversations.
- I’m bitter that these adults have radio and televisions shows where they get to spew their nonsense to millions of people.
- I’m bitter that people have such short memories that Fox News can get away with this s**t.
And so, is it surprising then that I cling to my martinis and my Constitution and my antipathy towards a government who doesn’t represent my values as a way to deal with my frustrations?
UPDATE: Thank you, Robert Reich (and hat tip to Freddie), for being more eloquent than I and spot on with your blog post, “Obama, Bitterness, Meet the Press, and the Old Politics.”
We Be Bitter « The Coyote Chronicles said,
[...] 14, 2008 · No Comments Mary Mancini is a bitter, bitter, and hopelessly bitter person. The Bitterness burns. She’s bound-up in bitterness, she is, in fact, bitter-fied. I think it [...]
Church Secretary said,
Mary Mancini, your bitterness is my bitterness. You ain’t alone. And I don’t live in Rural America.
Mary Mancini said,
Thank you for the support, Church Secretary. I’ve been wondering, is being bitter better than feeling hopeless? Does one fuel action and the other wallowing?
peaches said,
Guess you should “git yerself” (a’la John Kerry) a gun, religion, and lash out at more people who aren’t like you. That’ll give you something to cling to in your hopeless wallowing. Uh, Mary, Obama thinks bitterness is the same as wallowing, read “clinging”. Did you get any of that? The Constitution puts limits on government’s power over its citizens, but it does not promise you a rose garden, just the freedom to make one for yourself.
Mary said,
Peaches, Nope I didn’t get that. You know why? Because I took the time to listen to everything he said rather than the 2-second sound bite. Last time I read the Constitution it promised “to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” Sounds pretty rosie to me.
eldano said,
I think that he said “cling to” because the people need something to support them with their jobs leaving town. Whether it is positive (religion), traditional (gun culture), or somewhere to redirect the anger (anti-immigrant sentiments). I think he clarified that very well the next day.
To prove that they wont cut him a break, he gets beat up for not wearing a flag pin, then gets hit for wearing one given to him by a vet. Why is he being dinged for not pandering? I really don’t get this one.
Mary said,
Yes, Dano, understanding the nuance of his statement and later clarification makes it easy to make sense of what he was saying. He’s not getting a break but it doesn’t seem as if it’s affecting him in any tangible way.
Did you see the debate last night? It was like “dog-pile-on Obama” with Charlie Gibson’s and George Stephanopoulos’ questions. At one point Obama made a conscious effort to steer the conversation to policy and was deflected by Stephanopoulos’ insistence that they talk about The Weather Underground. Incredibly frustrating.
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