Are you paying attention? AIDS is ravishing Africa. Asia is no different. The disease is running out of control in the Caribbean. Cases continue to climb in the United States. Access to drugs, and at a cheap rate, continues to be a problem for far too many people. Schools are opening and about to reopen with serious needs for the students. Unemployment and the economy teases a jump from the precarious edge.
There is a war going on in Sudan. This country is at war also. With these problems and other on the tear, the President of the United States and his Democratic Party opponent, both find time to banter about their military service. The evidence says that President Bush was enlisted, but didn’t serve. Senator Kerry served, some say, but not with the distinction he claims.
We are caught in the whirlwind of the unnecessary debate. Oddly, the media finds this non-issue to be a huge one. Instead of investigating the records and doing the intelligent thing of divulging the truth in a determinative way, they have decided to ride the crest of idiocy and label the time waster as controversy. They then make news of the back and forth of the two camps.
Meanwhile, we sit and wait for a meaningful discussion of the issues we are faced with and the proposals that each will have for a cure. In this matter of the military service, Kerry is no better than Bush. It would seem as if it is not Bush versus Kerry, but the team of Bush and Kerry a la Penn and Teller. We need some substance in what is being billed as the most important election in our lifetime. We are waiting.
Added to the sleight of hand of the one issue, which is no election issue, is the call of just about everybody to register and vote. We are being asked to support, in particular, the Democratic Party’s candidate. Why? Rev. Al Sharpton ran as the “Black” candidate. He endorsed Kerry. We do not know the terms of the endorsement. He addressed the Democratic convention.
His speech was hailed as a good one. It spoke to Mr. Bush. Is that the sum of the endorsement, his speech on prime time, his speaking longer than the time allowed? We are to vote, and should. There are considerations that demand that we vote. However, what is in it for us? Is there a Caribbean initiative? Will our farmers have markets here? Will we get debt relief? How about substantial aid for fighting AIDS and treating the infected? That is on the Caribbean side. And what will Kerry or Bush do for us for our vote? Will we be able to gain a piece of the commerce of the nation because of the direct intervention of the person we are to vote for?
At this point, Bush and Kerry’s military service mean very little. Bush has led the nation to war and has ruined the economy. Kerry is talking about being better able to fight the war on terror. He too is for war. But while the combatants seek to claim the title as best able to lead into war, our schools are still in a state of decay, AIDS still ravishes the Caribbean region, and trade arrangements continue to sink the economies of the islands. But that’s alright. Those things are not as important as the question of Bush’s service and Kerry’s Purple Hearts.
