Super-sized pep rallies of nothingness

Finally, both political parties have had their conventions and now it is back to addressing the issues affecting this country. And for the record, neither party over the past two weeks presented a single idea before their delegates or the viewing public that was convincing enough to say why anyone should vote for the nominee for their party.

If there was ever a time for a third party movement to get started, this election year is it. Though I will be voting for one of the candidates, it is far from an enthusiastic vote of confidence for Mr. Romney. The American electorate should feel that they have been ripped off by both of the major political parties.

Someone stated to me that the reason to watch the conventions was to hear about the issues. After laughing hysterically, I surmised that the person has never in their life attended a pep rally. For anyone to think that a national political convention is about issues, then they are sadly mistaken. What took place over the past two weeks was more about ego stroking, self-adulation and wives talking so eloquently about their husbands; who according to Ann Romney and Michelle Obama, one would think that a saint will be occupying the White House.

The super-sized pep rallies are about nothing more than speaking to the respective bases, pandering, lying and rallying the troops for the stretch run. There was nothing that was said to convince me that my mind would be changed after either acceptance speech. Conversely, these series of super-sized pep rallies convinced me even more that the American political system is flawed at best. The super-sized pep rallies has planted the seed of how badly this nation needs a serious alternative to what we are sadly stuck with.

I have three fraternity brothers that have made legitimate cases for what the pulse of this nation’s political acumen should look like. Don Perkins will be voting for a third party candidate on November 6th no matter what; Eric Jones will be writing in a statement on his ballot November 6th in protest of the two major party candidates that he feels are inferior and Jimmy Greene will vote for the Republican that he has lukewarm support for, but he will run as a moderate independent next year in his bid at a public office. I am sure that there are many, many more Americans that feel the same way as these three men.

The irony of it all with regard to these super-sized pep rallies is that at the end of the day and after all of the partying; the entities that benefited the most were the host cities and vendors. That’s right folks; as this nation continue to struggle in an economic malaise, the windfall jackpot goes to all the vendors that were in Tampa and Charlotte selling goods to folks that will soon be obsolete. Just look back on the items you saw while watching the pep rallies and ask yourself; “I wonder how much that person paid for such a stupid looking pair of glasses that will become useless after December 31, 2012?” Yes, while watching the super-sized pep rally on the television, you most likely said to yourself, “hmmm”, but the vendor is laughing all the way to the bank and only wishing that these super-sized pep rallies of excess were an annual event. I mean, where else can you find over-exuberant folks willing to spend an outrageous amount of money on some of the most ridiculous of things?

So to all the folk that talked about how great the speeches were at the respective conventions, please try to understand that the folks were speaking to their base; nothing more and nothing less. These super-sized pep rallies are not about politics and certainly has nothing to do with trying to convince an independent or someone from the alternative party that they are missing out on something. It was the expectation that each and every speaker would go before the audience and only say nice things. You even had some who showed such a zeal in speaking to the base that one would have thought that she was some phenomenal leader instead of a failed two-term governor from a still struggling state.

Now, the next fifty-nine days cannot come fast enough so that we can be rid of what may be the worst choices to lead this country in quite some time. The future is now and 2016 cannot get here fast enough. I am far from looking forward to the next round of super-sized pep rallies, but at least January 20, 2017 may provide a refreshing dose of a new kind of leadership. If only I could have been as content with the conventions in the same way that I am satisfied at the drive through window when I ask the cashier to super-size my order.