Neil Young And The 2008 Election

Recently, I turned on my stereo in my garage prior to a workout and heard Neil Young singing, "Keep on Rocking In The Free World." This is a great song that I have loved since I first heard it in the late 1980's. Young sings about the problems we seem to ignore while enjoying life in a free world. He covers issues like homeless people, drug addicted mothers whose children have no hope of making it in this world, Styrofoam burning holes in the ozone, and much more.
It is an angry song that chastises not only our leaders, but also a society willing to turn its back on what it does not want to be reminded of.
As I listened to the song, I got to thinking about how true the lyrics are today, twenty years later. Not much has changed the last two decades. While we may have ushered in the age of the internet, cell phones, and ipods, our leadership is essentially the same. Many of our top political leaders today were already entrenched in Washington D.C. when Young first released this song.
Over the past two decades, we have seen the rise of Senator John McCain's political star as he has worked his way up the political ladder to become the Republican Party's next choice for the presidency. We have also seen the rise of Hillary Clinton from first lady to first victim and now as Senator from New York with eyes for the white house.
Both candidates would like us to believe they have played a significant roll in making our country better and should become our next president. However, they are nothing more than examples of leaders who have, like many Americans, continually closed their eyes and turned deaf ears to real problems that continue to exist.
While they may have plans to handle the war, deal with a failing economy, and convince us they are the best qualified person to lead our country, they have failed to ebb the tide of homelessness, rid the country of drug abuse, or close the hole in the ozone. In fact, the problems of our nation twenty years ago are now generally accepted as a way of life thanks to their inactivity.
Both senators McCain and Clinton represent a generation of leaders who failed to provide us with any leadership. You see, while climbing the political ladder, both were too busy looking out for their own future to accomplish anything to ensure the future of Americans for generations to come.
Our children will end up better test takers than any prior generation but in all likelihood will end up unable to afford a college education and will probably have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Social Security and Medicare are still in danger of collapsing but this has little affect on our wealthy leaders even though it greatly impacts the millions of average Americans who have trusted leaders like McCain and Clinton to make sure it is there for them. And the middle class continues to be reduced while being expected to pay the tax burden of the nation while the wealthy lobby for loopholes that let them off the hook.
Before you blame them, remember, senators McCain and Clinton are no different than George Bush, John Kerry, or Al Gore, who came before them and are part of the same generation of leaders.
Worse, now that a leader from a younger generation has emerged on the national stage with a message of hope and leadership that leads from a higher ground, Barack Obama, McCain and Clinton resort to the politics of their generation's style; negative politics. It is what has allowed Senator Clinton to climb back into the race for the Democratic Party's nomination and it has allowed Senator McCain to take the lead recently in national polls.
When will our country wake up and realize if we always vote for the candidate who is best at smearing his opponent or instilling fear into our minds, we end up with leaders who have few accomplishments to hang their hats on but plenty of negative adds to run against their opponents?
If you want the status quo, leadership that expects little to nothing from the people while promising them little in return, you have a tough choice between McCain and Clinton. Both seem well qualified in this regard.
However, if you want a new leader, one who recognizes our problems and articulates them in a clear and calm manner; one who offers us hope while admitting we have challenging times ahead; one who can not be blamed for the problems Neil Young sang about twenty years ago but appears willing to tackle them; then Barack Obama should be someone you can feel good about voting for. I know I do.