So, who cares about apathy anyway?
The Webster Retort
By Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
Publication date:
So, who cares about apathy anyway?
So, this year’s primary elections have just ended. And I have to say, being a reporter covering this area’s local elections for the first time has been quite an experience. I’ve never seen so many white people as happy to have been given a passive, unenthusiastic half-nod of the head. I am amazed at how disengaging our brand of (mostly) Republican politics can be. Oh, don’t hate me. I just call it like I see it. And if the official results of last night’s vote are any measure, 94.97% of my county agrees.
Okay, so there is always something to be said of low voter turnout. Most folks are just sick of the games being played with our tax dollars. And I cannot fault our local politicos for that; at least, not entirely. We’ve got a pseudo-fascist flinging money, blood and oil around in
Damnit, we need to shake things up a bit.
Now, hear me out. We live in
We’re first in executions, property taxes and toll roads. Seventeen percent of Texans live below the poverty line. Worse still, that number accounts for 10 full percent of the nation’s poorest. And like a rotten olive on top of a sludge sunday, we’ve found our way to the bottom of the education racket.
Until I reached my 20’s, I was never very proud to call myself a Texan. I could not read this land’s subtext. I failed to appreciate the strange charm of a hot summer night amongst the cicada calls and highway traffic. I’ve always liked pecans, but I’ve never appreciated cracking ‘em. And those roadside outposts we call towns … well, I spent most of my childhood bouncing between several of those.
Months ago, I attended a Kinky Friedman campaign rally in
Let’s be perfectly honest here: I am a liberal, straight up, with a shot of whiskey. I do not like the parties, though, and I hate inflated government pork-barrel spending. I say, a man can’t survive unless he learns to balance his checkbook. You could say I was pre-conditioned to like Kinky, even though I disagree with about half of his opinions on the issues.
For instance … The guy voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, supports placing religious artifacts in government buildings (“We’ll call ‘em the 10 Suggestions”), wants to construct a wall between Texas and Mexico, and has been quite fuzzy on whether he supports a woman’s right to chose. So, he straddles the divide on different issues than I, but that is still okay with me. One thing we do agree on is the monopoly both parties have on this process.
It is not often that a politician says something like, “We have a government of the money, by the money and for the money. That’s not the American dream.” Honesty of that caliber is a rare commodity. Any man willing to stand in front of the press and stick his finger directly in the eye of our national oligarchy is good enough to get not just my vote, but my signature and personal endorsement. C’mon folks, sign The Kinkster’s petition! How hard could it be? You can find the petition drive location nearest to you on the web at KinkyFriedman.com.
As Friedman says, “Why the Hell Not?” If you can think of a good answer to that question, congratulations: you’re a bigger nerd than I.
Stephen Webster is an Investigative Reporter and Syndicated Columnist with The News Connection, a Staff Columnist with George W. Bush’s hometown weekly The Lone Star Iconoclast, and a former Contributor to The Dallas Morning News’ Science & Technology section.
