Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.
Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.
Voting As if Your Life(Savers) Depended On It
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace:
How World Leaders Can Reverse the Financial Meltdown
Dean Baker, Mark Weisbrot
Democracy and Elections:
Memo to GOP: Minority Homeowners Did Not Cause Wall St. Meltdown
David Swanson
DrugReporter:
LSD Cured My Headache
Arran Frood
Election 2008:
Maybe Now People Will Take Their Votes More Seriously
Bob Herbert
Environment:
The Meltdown We Really Can't Afford
Kerry Trueman
ForeignPolicy:
Obama Talks Tough About Afghanistan; Here's What He's Really in For
Anand Gopal
Health and Wellness:
McCain's Erratic Health Strategy: Now He's Slashing Medicare
RJ Eskow
Hurricane Katrina:
From the Bayou to Baghdad: Mission Not Accomplished
Amy Goodman
Immigration:
Expanding Flawed E-Verify System Will Hurt Lawful Workers
Michele Waslin
Media and Technology:
Memo to Media: The Palin Rape-Kit Story Has Not Been 'Debunked'
Eric Boehlert
Movie Mix:
The "Battle in Seattle" and Beyond
Stuart Townsend
Reproductive Justice and Gender:
Our Next President Will Transform the Supreme Court
Ellen Goodman
Rights and Liberties:
From Gitmo to the U.S.: How 17 Uighur Prisoners Could Be Let Into the United States
Andy Worthington
Sex and Relationships:
Why Everyone Loves Hot, Smart Older Women
Vanessa Richmond
War on Iraq:
U.S. Needs to Take in More Iraqi Refugees
Zainab Mineeia
Water:
Can the People Who Live in Coastal Towns Ever Be Safe From Hurricanes?
Lizzy Ratner
The good thing about living in a democracy is we can make our voices heard. The problem is getting anyone to pay attention. Take President Bush, for example. He thinks listening to protesters is like "[deciding] policy based upon a focus group." Of course it was during his election that votes were so highly thought of in Florida they were tossed out. So it's nice to know that there are still people who are not only genuinely interested in what we think and making sure our votes count, but who actively solicit them. So what if they're TV program creators and candy companies?
Television has become a democratic medium. It used to be we watched, we munched, we flipped the channels, we fell asleep. Now we're a part of it. We called in and helped decide who should stay in a house while Big Brother -- I mean, we -- played Peeping Tom 24 hours a day. Then we let our fingers do the voting and selected an American Idol. Not only did 15 million people cast ballots for the finalists, 286,000 of them shelled out their hard earned bucks to buy the winner's single during its first week of release, proving that mailing fundraising letters, speaking while people pretend to enjoy lame chicken dinners, and promising to toss lucrative government contracts at them are very passé ways to get people to fork over money.
Right now we can have twice the fun by voting two times in one week. We can call in and try to get our least favorite washed-up celebrity thrown out of the Australian rain forest on "I'm a Celebrity -- Get Me Out of Here!," even though it's tempting to change our vote so they'll stay and hopefully wind up as Purina Croc Chow. A couple of days later we can watch "Married By America" and play matchmaker for five people who are desperate for a spouse, desperate for publicity and, well, just plain desperate. Best of all, we can do it without having to register to vote. Or even be a citizen for that matter. This is especially good since a new reality TV show, "American Candidate," is in the works, and it would suck to not have your vote count just because you're a 16-year-old illegal alien who recently got out of prison on a felony charge.
The show is scheduled to hit the airwaves in January and you too can apply for the position of Commander in Chief. The first step to fame, fortune, and a license to bully the world will be to sign up at the program's website. Get your finger off the mouse, you won't be able to do this until May. The producers expect 10,000 people to sign up to run, which will be 12 more than the Democrats will have at that point. A "blue-ribbon leadership panel" -- think people who have won 4-H cattle contests -- will use a Magic 8 Ball, tarot cards, and a two-headed quarter to whittle the field down to 18 candidates, who over 13 prime-time episodes will try to woo viewers into choosing them to be the "people's candidate." Kind of like Ross Perot with less money, the same ego, and probably more votes.
Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »
| More Columns: | ||
|
Why the Bailout Won't Help Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: The bailout's supporters said Congress had to do something to unfreeze the credit markets. It didn't work. By Mark Weisbrot, AlterNet. October 10, 2008. |
Henry Paulson: Good Businessman or Very Bad Communist? Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Is Paulson looking to socialize risk and privatize gain? The answer could be the difference between economic disaster and recovery. By David Sirota, AlterNet. October 10, 2008. |
Progressives: Don't Underestimate the Power of McCain's Dirty Tricks Election 2008: Some progressives believe the McCain campaign is doomed. Let's not forget how low the Republicans will go to win. By Norman Solomon, AlterNet. October 9, 2008. |