After a severely pleasant week experiencing a self-inflicted solitary confinement here in Decatur, I can honestly say that I enjoy living alone. And here I am getting ready to move out of my apartment. Seeing as the direction that my life has a habit of turning is never anything but ironic, I think this is especially apropos.

All this time alone, cleaning incessantly, experimenting in the kitchen, and making up new life stories to tell the poor people who have the privilege of hearing them on my daily campus tours has given me a lot of time to think. About what you ask? Why, none other than the state of the current political climate. 

Now you come right back to the computer and start reading this again this instant. This isn’t going to turn into one of those masturbatory posts on all of my obnoxious political views or how I’m so sick of Obama, or how I’m so over McCain or something equally avoidable like that. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. 

All I can think about these days is how unfortunate it is that no matter who becomes the president this fall, somewhere around half the country will be completely bitter and heinously irate about it for the next four (to eight) years. And all I can say is that I am so glad I will be out of the country to experience the aftermath. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have very strong political leanings and thoughts and ideas and musings and blah, blah, blah along with the rest of the ardent bloggers out there. I don’t spend all day watching gay porn and musing about the state of Britney’s health. I do spend a great deal of time at my desk, flipping between Fox, CNN, and MSNBC to gather all the stimulating campaign news I can devour. Yum. But one thing I have noticed as of late, is everyone’s obsessions to vomit these ideas all over you in any way they can. Whether it be a genial debate on some youtube video comment section, or the various “I <3 Obama” or “NObama” facebook groups that I get daily invites for. 

Free speech is a beautiful thing. I think it’s great that people like me can write mindlessly for as long as they please on blogs like these all over the nation. Props to the constitution. We geddit. But don’t we all have better things to do with our time than banter back and forth with those who stand on the opposite side of the partisan line? I hate to break it to everyone who dreams of someday astounding a Liberal with their brilliant Conservative ideas, but it’s never going to happen. And the same goes for you tree hugger- you’re never going to get that guy to trade in his Ford F1-50 for an environmentally aware electric dealy. 

I think the one thing that I’ve learned is that every strong political ideal I’ve ever held in my life has never once been swayed by someone else arguing with me on a message board. Any changes (and there have been many) have come from living my own life, and gradually growing into my own ideas of what is right and what is wrong. And I guess my overall point here is something akin to “give peace a chance” or something equally laughable, but can’t we all just agree to disagree and realize that calling each other the scum of the earth for sitting somewhere a little too far left or right of the political spectrum isn’t all that bad? In fact it’s what makes this country so great.

But then I suppose what would be the point of free speech if there weren’t a bunch of irate college students arguing for hours back and forth on some message board? I guess I just can’t make myself care all that much about what other people are thinking, because I’ve come to accept that they’re going to think what they’re going to think no matter how ridiculous it is. You can post all the links you want to reputable news sources, proving whatever candidate you oppose is in fact a factious, communist who is hell bent on destroying whatever ideals you believe this country was built on. Inevitably they’ll just conclude that there is some kind of liberal/conservative bias behind it, and write it off immediately. It’s all just so frustrating. Too frustrating, which is why at the ripe old age of twenty I immediately pull out like a drunken frat guy at toga party whenever someone pushes me to “debate” with them on whatever issue it is that is just bugging them at that moment. I’ve finally learned that the word “debate” really means arguing ruthlessly until everyone involved walks away with hurt feelings, bruised egos, and feeling like they somehow proved their point.

Don’t get started with me on the importance of “intelligent dialogue on important issues that are facing this country” either. Because I can have plenty of that with people who are equally as unwilling to get so invested that they’re willing to debase themselves to a level of what should be just sheer embarrassment. I won’t ever call one of my friends an idiot for believing whatever the hell they want to believe. At least not to their face.

Oh, and don’t worry- I’ve already got my absentee ballot, so I’m still voting. Even if it is all a little bit hopeless to argue about it, I’m going to put my energy in a place where it really matters in the long run: Googling “absentee ballot” until I found out how someone actually gets one of those. Hopefully all that work won’t go to waste in November.

On a much lighter, and possibly illegal note…
This weeks installment of Illegal Crush of the Week may have actually opened up avenues to a possible new segment on this blog called Little Person Crush of the Week. If I haven’t given it away already, I’m speaking of course this week of the undeniable hottie, Jeremy Roloff. Oldest son, and star of the TLC reality show Little People, Big World, Jeremy is one of the main reasons I tune in on Sunday afternoons when I have nothing better to do but watch reruns of this mediocre show. At the ripe old age of 17 Jeremy quick starts my loins every time I see him running around after his four-foot tall mom out in their suburban yard… Kicking something around. I think it’s a soccer ball. I don’t care though, because he usually has his shirt off, and it makes me feel in equal parts tingly and gross (for feeling tingly). I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely counting down until this kid’s eighteenth birthday.

Here’s a picture I awkwardly (and possibly illegally) ripped from his myspace (just wrong, I know).
 

He’s the one on the left, and his arm is wrapped lovingly around what the caption on his myspace reads “BFF.” They both look pretty gay to me. Is all I’m sayin’. They’re sporting the gay buzzcut and frosted tips between them! GAY.