Quoad vos vereor nos

This is going to sound a bit conspiracy theory-ish, but I'm okay with that...

So you ever wonder if the dumbing down, hypnotization, lowest-commen-denominator style of entertainment that is offered to children-- definitely since I used to be one, and probably before that-- is deliberate?

The power of creation and destruction comes from our imaginations, and our imagination is at its most fertile when we are younger, when we don't understand the laws of science and math, don't recognize the repetition of history, and have no real concept of law and order beyond that which gets us disciplined.
Mass entertainment, specifically television, somehow manages to keep us docile, keep our brains turned off, keep us from asking too many questions. Essentially, it puts locks and bars around our imaginations, guiding and limiting the way in which we use them.

I wonder if those grown-ups who dictate policy and attempt to manipulate the direction in which society flows feared so much the power of destruction in our imaginations that they were willing to sacrifice the power of creation in them as well.
If blinders and binders aren't fettered on our children, it stands to reason (at least a little bit) that we'd have more artists and appreciators of art. More scientists and a willingness for innovation and experimentation.

More than just a digital connection to the world, and perhaps therefore more of a feeling of responsibility for it.

Meun Asper Pectus

You and I, we may look the same
But we are very far apart
There's bullet-holes where my compassion used to be
And there is violence in my heart

Into fire you can send us
From the fire we return
You can label us a consequence
Of how much you have to learn

You can try but you'll never understand
This is something you will never understand
Can you hear it now?
Hear it coming now?
Can you hear it now?

On hands and knees
We crawl
You cannot stop us all
Our bones, our skin
We will not let you in

You have set something in motion
Much greater than you've ever known
Standing there in all your grand naivety
About to reap what you have sown

Time will feed upon your weaknesses
And soon you'll lose the will to care
When you return to the place that you call home
We will be there, we will be there

On hands and knees
We crawl
You cannot stop us all
Our blood will stay
We will not go away

On hands and knees
We crawl
You can not stop us all
Our blood, our ways
Will never leave this place

by NIN

Tria Populus

So I voted yesterday. I voted my conscience, so I voted for Nader.
Don't gimme any of that waste your vote crap, the only vote you waste is the one you don't cast.
Frankly, more people like Nader are exactly what this country needs. The two party system of government is failing, and just like how we have three branches of government (even though they aren't very good at that whole checks and balances thing) a third major political party will help stop the bickering. Ideally, anyway.

The big problem, though, is the major players are scared of a third major party. It would upset the system they've so cunningly crafted: mainly, being able to ignore their constituents.
Why are debates and townhall meetings limited to just the democratic and republican candidate? Why does the media ignore every other candidate?

The system needs defibrillation, and a third major political party may be exactly the shock we need.