1.) Part of the race is trying to evolve, to rise above the baser things which have characterized much of humanity’s time upon this planet - war, ethnic divisions, greed, waste, environmental degradation. The best argument for evolution isn’t even a moral one, but that the “old way” is counter-productive at best, destructive at worst. If human beings wish to continue upon this planet, sooner or later we are going to have to rise above the “old way.” The scenarios for destruction are multiple. These scenarios must be minimized as much as possible. In order for this to happen, changes in lifestyle must take place, and individual consciousness must expand beyond the confines of one’s immediate life, even beyond one’s own nation. We must realize what we are, and act like it: we are “Citizens of the Universe.” Being a Citizen of the Universe is an incredible opportunity that we waste when we act in a manner which defeats our own prospects for survival as a species. Nonexistence is not a laudable goal, because it is…well, nullset. Nothing is not something.

2.) The technology continues to evolve faster than our collective character (the “apes with guns” scenario). Technology in itself is “neutral” (for example, E = mc^2 is simply a description of nature; it is neither constructive nor destructive in itself, but both, and in a cyclic manner, without malice or benevolence - it just is). It is our application of technology which has the potential to be destructive. War machines are a blatantly destructive technology, but other technologies which are ostensibly for “the good of humanity” are also destructive. ALL fossil fuel technology, in fact. Hydroelectric, while “clean,” irrevocably alters ecosystems. Nuclear power generates wastes which remain toxic for tens of thousands of years. It is imperative, and has been for decades, that the major thrust of energy-related R&D be directed toward sustainable and clean sources of energy. But it has not been: oil companies, desirous of continuing profits, have consistently devoted almost nothing to sustainable energy development, and the political establishment has done everything it can to ensure that we remain almost wholly dependent on fossil fuels.

3.) In addition to fossil-fuel dependency, the prosperity of the developed “West” has been, in many ways, built upon the backs of the underdeveloped nations (for example, we enjoyed a reasonably priced cup of coffee for decades because the U.S. never paid world price to underdeveloped nations). And so on, and so forth, ad nauseum.

4.) In an effort to maintain the status quo, many leaders of the United States have stretched out the military extension of their own arm. In other ways, the political establishment and big business - longtime bedfellows - have engaged in “economic imperialism.” Every time an American leader has referred to “protecting our way of life,” he has been essentially referring not to our freedom, but to the various excesses of consumption and usury which characterize American culture. Maintaining military might and squelching “upstarts” under our booted heel has become an indispensable part (to the “men up top” and their supporters) in supporting the fornication between big business and politics, so as to support “our way of life.”

5.) A segment of the American public knows this, but feels justified in the expression of our might, believing that we, being a “Christian Nation,” have the approval God (George Bush is one such, as is the religious right). This is essentially an extension of the “Manifest Destiny” ethic which fueled the Westward thrust in this nation during the 19th century. Once we ran up against the Pacific Ocean, the Manifest Destiny ethic turned around and focused on “subduing” the continent, and expanding into other nations in ways both economic and military, so as to ensure “our way of life.”

The secular right, meanwhile, simply believes “might makes right.” Something like “Social Darwinists.” They are relatively rare beasties, but they are the vilest of all, because they don’t even have a misguided religious ethic to blame for their attitude; they are the “raptors” of civilization.

Both of the above are responsible for expressions of nationalism, masquerading as “patriotism.” They are false patriots. In their most extreme form, they are practically indistinguishable from fascists.

6.) Another segment of the American public are so wrapped up in their tiny lives and the pursuit of “happiness,” or they are so stressed out and overburdened trying to make ends meet, that they simply don’t have the will to make “government by and for the people” a reality. In fact, many don’t even vote.

7.) Still another segment of the American public is self-centered, myopic, shallow and/or stupid, and doesn’t care what is happening in their world, as long as it doesn’t interfere with “their way of life,” and they will generally vote for whatever individuals and measures which they believe will protect their “way of life,” rather than that which is for the long-term good of future generations and the world at large. They are a subspecies to the raptors.

Members of groups described in (6) and (7) have characters that are skillfully manipulated by various entities: Corporate America manipulates with advertising, goods and services, to maintain their status quo of wealth accumulation and constant growth. The government manipulates with legislation, taxes, promises, fear, misdirection, and appeals to nationalism. The media manipulates with spin, misdirection, and selective release and retention of information. All three rely heavily on propaganda and appeals to emotion.

8.) Another segment: Doesn’t like what’s going on, and shakes their head when they see the news, but they never engage in protest or other forms of activism, because they feel it’s a waste of time. I call this “low apathy.”

9.) Another segment is politically active, and attempts to adjust their lifestyles to a more earth-friendly orientation. They are the responsible ones, and they are also the smallest segment of the population.

10.) Our representatives in the House and Senate are for the most part ambition-laden individuals with money, who lead very comfortable, even luxurious lives. They are very often drawn out of the wealthiest segment of the population. They have also lost sight of the fact that they are our servants, that they are in place to do exactly what we want them to do, not to cater to special interest groups, not to acquire wealth, not to advance the agenda of their own party as separate and distinct from the will of the American people.

11.) Partisan battles have superseded the will of the people.

12.) Our current President is a liar, a despot,and a murderer. He has led the country into an insane and intractable war, made us the laughingstock and the “bad guy” of the world community. He is a criminal.

13.) He should have been removed from office, period. Those in Congress who have failed to take concrete action towards impeachment have the blood of innocents on their hands.

14.) Even with the nightmarish mix of all of the above, citizen approval of the Bush administration is lower than in any other administration, and polls show that a majority of Americans now believe the Iraq war was a mistake. Some decided it was a mistake when they got hit in the wallet at the gas pump. Others decided it was a mistake as it drew out to become a prolonged and seemingly intractable conflict, and still others when they realized that we have become the nemesis of the world. Along with a host of other reasons, in various combinations.

15.) Meanwhile, Congress continues to fuck around, engaging in lot of talk and posturing, sponsoring moronic “resolutions” such as the recent attempt to pass a resolution about Turkish-sponsored genocide in the 20th century, when there are more immediate concerns - involving death and mayhem in the present - which are vastly more pressing. This is not to say that what the Turks did was right, but one does not worry about debating how weasels stole a bunch of chickens last week, when ALL the chickens have just escaped the henhouse.

16.) America is a fucking mess, and it’s never too late to start impeachment proceedings, but tha isn’t going to happen, because the Congress is impotent.

17.) Dubya is setting his sights on Iran.

18.) He’s only got a year left in office.

19.) He can do quite a lot in a year. Quite a lot that is not good. Doubl-plus ungood, in fact.

20.) The Presidential hopefuls are lining up. The most promising candidates, imho, have zero chance of getting in because the previously mentioned manipulative strategies of government, corporate America, and particularly the mass-media cast a sort of “thrall” upon the American public which steers them like the cattle that they are, away from candidates who will take the necessary, drastic actions to clean up the American scene, both in Iraq and domestically. In the case of the media this is not so much a “conspiracy” (although there are elements which could be characterized as “conspiracist”) as it is a “mediocrity paradigm” which responds most favorably to a slick tongue, shiny black shoes, and a nice smile with straight teeth. If we view a political campaign as a “job interview” (where the American public is the employer), the American public is, historically, every bit as backward and shallow as the morons who have inhabit a million personnel offices, and who bypass potentially excellent employees based on some shallow and superficial set of “canned” values.

21.) In general, each segment of the populace will vote for the candidate who caters most to their individual wants and needs and whom they perceive will keep their lives as stable as possible, while paying lip service to whatever “higher ideals” they favor (if any). Unfortunately, lip service to high ideals on the campaign trail often does not translate into action after election day.

22.) A combination of all the above factors will determine our next president - who will have the option of cleaning up this mess, leaving it the same, or making it worse.

23.) Scratch cleanup, if by some weird quirk a Republican should get into office. I’d like to think that there’s a “good” Republican still out there, somewhere, but I’m seriously starting to wonder if there are even any “good” Democrats - so I find it hard to suppose that any Republican could make a “good” president. In fact, I seriously begin to wonder if the values and ambitions which lead anyone to pursue a major public office are ever commensurate with the good of the greater number. Stated more simply, I suspect that politicians, on the average, are “rotten,” to varying degrees.

24.) Scratch cleanup, if Dubya invokes that an administration change would destablize all he has “tried to do” in Iraq (a supposition some have set forth) and decides to try and stay on. Various scenarios are possible in that case: Congress could wimp out and go along with it, “provisionally,” or they could put him in manacles and lock him up, and hold elections anyway. The military could refuse to back him, which would effectively make such a move impossible for him. Or he could declare martial law, and the military could back him and make it easy for their Commander-in-Chief. Whether someone would shoot him in the head or blow him up in that case is impossible to predict, as is the response of other nations (outside of multilateral condemnation, recalling all their diplomats, etc.).

The above scenario is unlikely, but “never say never.” This guy is already weirder than any other president we’ve ever had. He could get a dream “epiphany” which he believes is from Christ, instructing him to stay on for the good of the nation and the glory of god.

25.) Can what has happened in the last eight years really be “repaired,” even in a “best case” scenario? Not for a long time, I don’t think, but maybe, with some serious work both in terms of the actions we take and the image we project. Ideally, the actions and the image will agree with each other, so that other nations don’t think we’re assholes. Right now, we keep preaching the “truth, justice, and the America Way” ethic even while we stomp on others, in both the economic and military senses. Anyone with even a smidgen of honesty has to admit that the U.S. is the bully and asshole of the world. The positive things we’ve done in the past are irrelevant; a saint doesn’t remain a saint when he starts shitting on people’s doorsteps (including the doorsteps of some his “own”).

26.) I really think that the 2008 elections will be the “turning point” for the United States. The “crossroads,” if you will. I think, after 2008, the U.S. is either going to start to seriously go downhill towards a bleak future, or start to climb up out of the hole the sons-of-bitches of the past, most notably Dubya and a few others, have dug for us.

27.) It should be a foregone conclusion that we’re all “part of this,” and it’s not like we can just rest on our laurels and everything is going to be “business as usual.” Unfortunately, this is not a foregone conclusion, and that’s the dirtiest, meanest variable in this whole discussion.