superman don't pay no child support

I am anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Mexican presidential elections. If Lopez Obrador (the candidate from the left) wins there could be a major shift in Mexico-U.S. policy. It would also mean that yet another Latin American country chooses a left-of-center president. Mexico would join the ranks of Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Chile--much to the chagrin of the current U.S. administration. I've always been a fan of Latin and South American politics mostly due to the culture being prone to socialist ideals and the U.S. helping out with that by supporting military dictators to topple democratically elected presidents. Ah, how I loved The Reagan Doctrine! It exemplified what America was really about: free elections, human rights, democracy...The other fascinating aspect of this election is that it's being hailed as an example of the maturing of democracy in Mexico. Would that be because it's been Americanized to the point where there was mud-slinging and name-calling? How mature!

Jimmy Carter, everyone's favorite past president, wrote an op-ed in the Times celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act while calling on the current administration to end it's practice of secrecy. One of the major reasons I'm interested in library and information science as a career is that I believe access to free, unbiased, and accurate information is a cornerstone of democracy. My favorite quote as of late is from Thomas Jefferson who said, "Information is the currency of democracy." With developing nations from South Africa to Jamaica to India and Mali opening up the flow of information not just on an executive level (which is what the FOIA does) but for all levels of government and some private companies as well, the U.S. is in danger of no longer being the shining example of democratic principles.

As the 4th of July is upon us I find myself more reflective than usual regarding what I believe and why. I have been a political junkie for almost 20 years (no. seriously. since 1984.) and have spent that time being a left-wing bleeding heart liberal Democrat. Though the Democratic Party has frequently let me down and has been consistently less willing to embrace liberal ideals I believe are at the core of democratic societies, I have always been too scared to vote 3rd party. My votes have been held hostage by my fear of the Republicans--I voted for Gore in 2000 even though he attempted to turn himself into a centrist because I was afraid of G.W.B. I voted for Kerry in 2004 because I was even more afraid of G.W.B. though I thought Kerry ran a deplorable campaign and was rightly attacked for lacking a coherent message. I have said it before and I will say it again: I love this country. I love the principles democracy is founded upon: freedom, liberty, and justice (Insert "America the Beautiful" as background music here). I believe that those principles are worth fiercely protecting and dying for. And this is why the current 2-party system breaks my heart. This is not a democracy. This is a perversion of a democracy. This is what happens when money can buy influence. This is what happens when your media is controlled by a few powerful rich men. This is what happens when apathy wins.

And yet: here I blog into the void. I sit in bars and talk to people about how to mobilize the 20-30 year olds. I write my senators and representatives because I believe it's my job as a citizen of this country to do so. I read books that challenge my beliefs and those that solidify them. I watch news and read newspapers in an attempt to grasp what is happening in the world. I think I do all of this because I believe that true democracy will eventually win. Democracy is stronger than money and more powerful than special interests. I know that alot of people find my beliefs "cute" or "naive." I guess if paying attention is cute and naive than so be it.

Yeesh.

So much for an uplifting Happy-Fourth-of-July post.