A time may have existed when the field of national politics wasn’t one giant, corporate-funded, mudslinging game of “Duck, Duck, Goose.” Clinton, Clinton, Obama! Obama, Obama, Clinton! Throw in a few undecided superdelegates and this can spin for months.
And it will, this parade of ducks and geese, until November. Anyone tired yet?
Americans love to celebrate “democracy.” But let’s face it: “Democracy” is nothing but a theoretical idea that has strayed bizarrely in its application. We no longer consider elections in the pure terms of voting for the candidate we deem the best. It’s become a game, with people tossing votes around like chess pawns.
Some people refused to vote Al Gore in 2000 because of Bill Clinton’s sexual indiscretions—apparently one man’s horniness directly affects another man’s leadership skills. And now people are casting their Democratic Party primary nods because they believe we “need” the first female or black president.
Since we’re deciding the future based on skin color and genitalia, how about this proposal: the first Arab-American president.
The name is Ralph Nader. You may have heard it before—say, in every presidential election from 1992 onwards. Unfortunately, Nader’s name has become tarnished for just this reason. He has a bad habit of announcing his candidacy too late and without the funding that, sadly, has become needed to be anything but a joke on the campaign trail.
But why not discuss the real reasons Nader’s name ought to be famous? The number and variety of nonprofit organizations he has had a direct hand in initiating cannot begin to be covered in this space. Nader founded the Center for Women Policy Studies—the first feminist policy analysis and research institution—in 1972. He also founded organizations for auto safety, nursing home reform, disability rights, public justice—the list goes on and on.
And what about the Clean Air and Water Acts, Freedom of Information Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act? Nader was instrumental in the push for and passing of those legislations, as well as many others.
I find it refreshing to encounter a presidential candidate whose background runs deep with grass-roots actions to better the lives of all people. Nader has not simply proposed pretty ideas—for decades he has helped citizens to unite in positive causes and instigate necessary change.
I’m not saying Nader has a chance in 2008. But remember that lovely, abstract concept we call a “democracy?” It can be made real again, someday. Maybe we just need to believe in a person who believes in us.
