The problem with Republicans changing the rules at this stage and the main consequences of it

(courtesy: newsbusters.org)

There are four crucial weeks left to the American elections, a very long time to test political fortunes. To the Democrats it must feel like the end is so tantalisingly near yet so achingly far away, in view of what is possible for both sides of the race up to then. Already, the Republicans are baring their nasty fangs. Bereft of innovative ideas, deprived of any real leadership and with no obvious solutions to any of the country's pressing problems (goodness knows there are many!), the intreprid Republicans, headed by John MCcain and Sarah Palin, have decided to take leave of their collective senses and get stuck into the mud instead.

The problem with accusing your opponent of anything at all that smacks of smear, slander or simple nastiness, is that two can play the same game. Having been in the line of 'terrorist for friend' fire all weekend, Barack Obama's team is now hitting back with a short documentary about McCain and Keating, an association that would have been better left unearthed in view of what is happening in the current economic meltdown.

According to David PLouffe, Obama's campaign manager:
"At noon Eastern on Monday, October 6th, we're releasing a 13-minute documentary about the scandal called "Keating Economics: John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis". it will be available at KeatingEconomics.com, along with background information that every voter should know. The point of the film and the web site is that John McCain still hasn't learned his lesson."

Oh, dear. I am sure the last thing that McCain needs right now is for the public to be reminded of what a hash he helped to make of the economy through deregulation.

When one resorts to smears about others, especially when there is little truth in them, one can expect the following five things to happen:

1. It emphasises how little one knows of the issues and has to resort to negative distractions to divert attention from one's inadequacy and ignorance. One is simply hiding one's unsuitability behind a handy scapegoat.

2. It draws attention to the poverty of one's leadership, especially when leaders are supposed to be statesmanlike, not street fighters hitting below the belt.

3. It loses sight of the important reasons for the election and seeking office: i:e the country and its nation, not the candidates themselves.

4. It demeans the whole office being contended, in this case the presidency if the United States.

5. It tends to unleash the floodgates of retaliatory action.

If the Republicans want to have a hope in hell of winning this election, McCain and Palin need to urgently return to providing the exact reasons why people should vote FOR them, not providing spurious claims why voters should vote AGAINST Obama! People will only listen to smears and nastiness for a little while. Some might be influenced by it but the majority soon work things out for themselves. After that, accusations become rather boring and counter-productive, tending to backfire with a vengeance in the end.

The Causes of Racism

Racism is pernicious, particularly hurtful to those on the receiving end, and is little understood. Its causes are not just social, neither can they be remedied in an instant. Racism goes much deeper than simple social factors and it stems, primarily, from the following four causes:

1. Instinctive reaction for species protection: It is the most natural thing in the world to gravitate towards our own kind, to recruit in our own image and likeness and to feel comfortable with people who outwardly look like us, reflect who we are and behave like us. We are all ingrained with a sense of self protection, especially of our culture, territory, family, the things we cherish and which form our identity. Racism comes out of a desire to protect all of that, as well as our roots and our species. Anything which isn't like us immediately becomes threatening and, where it is also perceived to be inferior, the prejudice towards it in order to protect our own becomes even more lethal and menacing.

2. Fear of loss and displacement: Seeking to protect our own kind means we fear any loss of what we already have and what makes us who we are: whether it's our jobs, our status, territory, possessions, personal significance and even our being. We fear being replaced by others, especially in a relationship, by anyone perceived to be much more appealing and desirable than we are. When that person is from another race, it simply confirms our unworthiness and adds insult to injury. Fear is the biggest cause of racism in our world, especially irrational fear of difference and loss, which tends to see any difference as both threatening and undeserving of what we regard as our right.

3. Ignorance: When we know better we can act better, especially if we have the confidence to put that knowledge into action. But what keeps racism going in a vicious circle is ignorance of the worst kind. If we grow up doing a particular thing, and everyone else around us does it too, we come to believe it is right, no mater how morally reprehensible it could be to another person who does not share our culture and outlook. We will not see anything wrong with our actions because those acts would be validated by everyone else like us. The only change will come through education and awareness of why those actions might not be appropriate, the consequences they carry for others as well as the alternatives that are available. Until people who know no better undergo an educative process around racism, ignorance will always keep racism thriving, especially among those who have no desire to act differently.

4. Lack of self love, feeling of unworthiness and desire to feel superior: The most racist people in our world tend to be the least confident, lacking in self esteem and, most of all, lacking in self love. They project all their negative feelings outward unto others, especially on to the most week and vulnerable. When we truly love ourself and appreciate who we are, we can appreciate how others feel and accommodate them more. We also have better understanding of others because we appreciate where we are coming from. Racism comes through a feeling of unworthiness, of being 'victimised', of lacking the opportunities others have, and of being a failure. Someone has to pay for such low feelings and self-perception. This means a need for scapegoats in order to feel superior and to exercise personal power over others. Racist people tend to feel insignificant, isolated, wronged and unloved and they remedy that feeling of exclusion by blaming someone else for it instead and seeking opportunities to exercise that prejudice and resentment.

That is why racism will always be difficult to eradicate because it is not a social act. It's an individual one. The causes of racism begin with the individual and can only be resolved by addressing the actions of individuals. It's individual people who behave in a racist manner which is then enhanced by the group and validated by institutions. That is why institutions often remain racist and discriminatory in approach for a long time unless the individuals within them are encouraged to act otherwise.

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"If you have no love or respect for yourself, how can you give any away?" - Elaine Sihera

10 Things I Hate About the World We Live In

The things which annoy me tend to be those that rob us of our humanity, which do not build, but merely destroy, and which detach us from our world, like the following:

1. IGNORANCE...Lack of knowledge has the most debilitating impact on our world because, without knowledge, we are at a loss to develop our potential to fruition. Ignorance keeps behavior and appreciation of others at the most basic level and simply robs us of a life.

2. Lack of SELF-LOVE...This is the biggest cause of problems in relationships. People lacking in self-love tend to be selfish, insecure, self-absorbed because it really is only about them. Lacking self-love means that one also lacks the love to give to others, which then sets up a vicious cycle of emotional pain.

3. WAR...This is the most destructive force in our life, often destroying more than it builds, yet solving very little in the long run. War might be an awesome exhibition of violence and power but the negative consequences it has, the havoc it wreaks and the sheer destruction it entails leave huge questions about how appropriate war is for resolving anything between nations or peoples.

4. VIOLENCE...particularly between youths and gangs, is pernicious, especially when gangs engender a sense of belonging among the youth and teaches them how to behave. Like war, violence solves nothing except to rob both the perpetrator and the recipient of their lives, in one form or another.

5. POVERTY...A lack of money and other basic essentials of life rob us of the opportunities we could have to make that life more enriching. Poverty is lethal because of the other negative things which come out of it: the main ones being ignorance, loss of self-esteem, loss of hope and violence.

6. INJUSTICE...Any injustice anywhere encourages injustice everywhere. We lose or humanity when we put up with blatant inequality and injustice to others, especially when they are weak and vulnerable.

7. Lack of RESPECT...At the heart of respect is sensitivity and a loss of respect is so obvious in our world today, in the way we treat each other, our expectations of each other, imposing our views on others and the selfish way we tend to live detached from one another.

8. Misuse of POWER...Power corrupts when it is misused and, if nothing else, the invasion of Iraq has demonstrated the impact of misused power for selfish reasons; the devastating way it affects the lives of many innocent and unsuspecting people.

9. GREED..The world has more than enough to go round for everyone. Nothing is more unattractive than seeing people, no matter how much they have, chasing money or material things for their own sake, when so many others have so little.

10. Lack of COURTESY...My mother taught me that 'Courtesy costs nothing, give generously' and I have lived by it ever since. The lack of courtesy in human interaction is now so sad, when a simple smile, thank you, and compliment can truly make someone's day, yet cost nothing at all to give.