"Buddhist" Blogging, or The Democratic Debate Made Me Sad

[babylonsister]

"Buddhist" Blogging, or The Democratic Debate Made Me Sad

Posted November 16, 2007 | 01:06 PM (EST)

It's a cliché to compare political debates to beauty pageants, but it's still the best analogy we've got. Hey, look! Who will become the Jon Benet Ramsey of the Democratic Party, offered in sacrifice to the media and the GOP? Remember, it ain't over until Bert Parks sings.

I don't think I would make the claim that I'm a Buddhist, although I follow a Buddhist practice. And I wrote a piece for the Buddhist magazine Tricycle this month. It's about trying to reconcile the blogging life with principles like right speech and the search for equanimity. (Spoiler alert: It can't be done, at least not perfectly and not by me.)

One thing that spiritual practices provide is a reminder to look beneath your own surface emotions to see what lies beneath. I tried doing that last night as I watched the Democratic debate, and here's what I found beneath my anger at Wolf Blitzer's fatuousness and the calculations of the politicians: sadness.

Yep. The debate made me sad, for reasons that have also become clichés. Needless death and suffering from wars overseas and inadequate healthcare at home. The future of the planet held hostage to corporate greed. Polls show that the American people have come to the right conclusions. They want to stop the war, reverse global warming, feed the hungry, and provide medical care for everyone. But nobody speaks to those desires, and probably nobody will.

(On the medical front, my health-wonk side says that Obama is right to resist mandates. Clinton's boast that she provides 'coverage for all' is only true in the sense that she would punish anyone who doesn't pay usurious rates to private companies for healthcare.)

The potential leaders of the most powerful nation in the Free World continue to jump through hoops set up by banal television producers. "We'll show you what a photo op looks like," says Blitzer, forcing the candidates to parade onto the stage and stand around awkwardly.

That's the swimsuit competition.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/buddhist-blogging-or-t_b_73028.html

[truedelphi]

1. I'm a fan of RJ Eskow's and I am glad to see his writing posted here

I know the "swimsuit" competition made me sad too.

Especially since only one of them really can swim, and he (Dennis K.) was given the least time of all.

[Warpy]

2. The whole exercise made me so sad

I kept switching to "Blazing Saddles" on AMC. I wish just one of these exercises in photogenic BSing would feature a moderator who would allow questions people can relate to, like questions about the squeeze between falling wages and rising prices and how the present administration is lying about both of them.

Most of what I heard last night were softball questions about irrelevancies handled by boilerplate answers. The only exceptions were war and immigration, issues the right wing thinks they can win on. Oh, yeah, and the question about abortion near the end. Another right wing issue.

I spent most of the time lurking in a pol chat to see what people were saying, something I think was more important than listening to the canned speeches about Repug issues.

My anger was the anger I always have at waste. All these "debates" have been wasted opportunities, wasted by candidates who are so focused on answering GOP issues that they fail to deflect the nonsense and talk about what their own party wants to hear.

And yes, it's sad.