{"id":1812,"date":"2008-07-18T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2008-07-18T07:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/?p=1812"},"modified":"2019-02-19T19:58:49","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T03:58:49","slug":"solipsistic-nation-no-99-terrorist-fist-jab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/solipsistic-nation-no-99-terrorist-fist-jab\/","title":{"rendered":"solipsistic NATION No. 99: Terrorist Fist Jab"},"content":{"rendered":"

I try not too talk too much on solipsistic NATION<\/strong> because I\u2019ve only got an hour to cram as much music and interviews into each edition of the show. I don\u2019t want to waste your time with my banter. Besides, anything I can\u2019t fit in the show I can always say in the show notes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re just months away from a presidential election here in the U.S. and after the longest political campaign in our country\u2019s history things are really heating up. It\u2019s been said that politics are a full contact sport and this campaign has been particularly ugly and for good reason: one of the former candidates, Hillary Clinton, is a woman and Barack Obama, is a black man. Despite the changing face of America our country has yet to fully come to terms with the much needed equality of women and race in our nation. Simply by being in the campaign Clinton and Obama has forced America to think about the issues of sex and race.<\/p>\n

While that is a good thing it also means that a lot of people can express their bigotry. Sometimes it came across in an obscure manner such as when pundits observed Clinton\u2019s tactics as being a form of \u201cmuscular\u201d politics (none of the other male candidates politics were identified as \u201cmuscular\u201d). Sometimes it was more egregious. For example, there were many times when Clinto was told that her place was in the kitchen, often by other women.<\/p>\n

The campaign has narrowed down to McCain and Obama so now America\u2019s discomfort with the possibility of having a black man as a president has become more pronounced. Recently there were a batch of pins that read \u201cIf Obama is President\u2026will we still call it The White House?\u201d When Obama gently banged fists with his wife, Michelle, a FOXNews anchor asked if the fist-bump might actually be \u201ca terrorist fist jab.\u201d It goes on and on.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m optimistic I see all this as a good thing because it means my country is addressing it\u2019s collective fears and hopefully we can move on. If Obama is elected president racism will still exist in our country but it\u2019s a step in the right direction. Even if Obama is not elected president it still is a victory. The U.S. is finally moving past an antiquated mindset. When I\u2019m not so optimistic I get really pissed off. Can we please move into the fucking 21st<\/sup> century. But rather than rant about all this on solipsistic NATION<\/strong> I figure it would be more productive and just play some music that kicks ass and today\u2019s show does just that. Turn it up and get your rage on!<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Chad Davis<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n