OBDURACY

American voters are obdurate. It is difficult for some of them to stray from a first impression to change their minds. They stubbornly cling to the hopes they had, when they voted initially, in face of all history and evidence to contrary; the results not at all fulfilling campaign promises. And so it would seem we are about to repeat this pattern. We will vote on hope and promise rather than substance. The difference in 2008 is, the man likely to be President seems (by his history) to be of a very different character.

It is said that, "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." Many of those who voted for our current president still believe he is an honest man and a good leader. People were shocked at a sexual indiscretion by the sitting president at the time, so they voted in a man who was spoiled as a young man, demonstrated a weak character, and who wanted and got his own way throughout life with disregard for those around him. However, he promised change. In fact he delivered it. He changed the lives of many families, made many children orphans, almost wiped out the whole middle class to leave only upper and lower class Americans, and very few of his campaign promises were kept. He promised to bring honor to Washington and has failed.

Many who look at issues and not the candidate form their own opinions, but sadly, average is average for a reason and those who rise above that, of mathematical necessity remain in the minority. Now we are voting for a Pied Piper with the missionary's zeal and appeal.

There is a delightful book by Cordelia Fine: a mind of its own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives. Everyone should read it to better understand themselves. One chapter is called the Pigheaded Brain. Research was done giving people false information about how poorly they had done in a research project in picking those most likely to suicide. Since it was given by figures in authority, people were told they failed to pick those likely to suicide; a phony pre-determined response to the subjects, even though the information was later repudiated as made up and untrue. Those who had been told this acted as though it was true and behaved like failures. This effect lasted for quite a while. However, if they were not permitted the time to stew over it and were kept distracted immediately after being given the information, they were more likely able to give up the notion of their own failure.

As long as we have media space filled by Rush Limbaughs, Chris Matthews, Humes, Hannitys, and all those opinion dictators, we will continue on the course we have followed in this country and call it a democratic process. What the media is doing to our electoral process offers as much choice to the voters and the cattle in StockYards have choice, in my humble opinion!