"Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling..."

Yeah, that's what started through my head when I heard about this nascent revolution. Leave it to me to get a piss-poor Butthole Surfers earworm in my cynical haze.

I know people are pretty pissed about this whole George W. Bush debacle. I sure am. And I've gotten some good righteous anger up about it, and what have I done?

I've read a few books. I've had talks at parties. I've made snarky comments on blogs. I pulled the lever for "the nominee" during the primary. I've gone to a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11. And I've given up a goodly amount of free time with my wife so she can go work on the Kerry campaign.

In other words, not much (aside from the time with my wife, which I miss quite a bit).

First, by way of an overview, my take on the furor over F9/11:

It occurs to me that while conservatives don't want this movie to be seen, most people I've talked with much about this flick on this side of the fence have deep reservations about this movie because of reservations they have about Michael Moore, and have said (in very broad terms) that if this movie is going to be made, it needs to be made differently. At least that's my take on it.

And while some criticism is surely warranted from both sides of the coin, it bugs me that some people hold higher standards for their entertainers in this country than they hold for their elected officials.

As a lifelong INFP, my perceptive side does battle with my ideals a good bit of the time. It's difficult for me to pass judgment on people's considered opinions when I know their hearts are in the right place. But I think maybe, just maybe -- Moore's really onto something and it bears considerable discussion regardless of the warts of his most recent movie. He's talking about the extent to which privilege has become so fully enmeshed with power in our day and age. He's outlining the modern-day conundrum of class here in bravery's home (which isn't supposed to exist, after all). He's talking not so much about the resurgence of imperialism so much as he is talking about how it's coming more out in the open. Conspiracy theories aside, there are points made that the punditocracy greeted with mordant chuckles of "grasping at straws" and "wild conjecture." But still, you gaze upon the [edited for effect] vacant stare [of [the president]] and it does take you to a place where you're staring at the hole in the NYC skyline and you gotta ask, "What in the blue fuck went wrong to let this happen?" I'll be the first to go on record as saying when a Bush -- or anyone, for that matter -- is asking not to hold inquiries into the failures that led up to 9/11/01 that they don't really have "national" security in mind. It's as simple a game as CYA, the same petty micropolitical bullshit that keeps so many of my co-workers in positions of gainful employment. "Ulterior motives?" Uh huh. What a damnable understatement.

Anyway, I heard John Kerry today talking about the scramble of people to reach the middle class, and how much he felt for those people. (I leave assessment of his veracity to the fertile imagination of whosoever decides to read this wriggling bit of mental effluvium.) But it struck me that this statement belies a huge truth: upward mobility is The Struggle which defines so much in American life for the underprivileged 98%. And hell, there's no mention of the middle class either trying to work its way forward, nor is there any mention of how many in the so-called middle class is scrabbling and scrapping in order to keep even the bare modicum of what that status accords today. Much of that is borne as high-interest unsecured loans, revolving at the hands of MegaCorpBank (conveniently located at the corner of Usury and Shylock in a town near you).

So I look to this November with significant trepidation. I really don't believe Bush has my best interests at heart, so I will dutifully pull the lever for Kerry (add /Edwards after this morning). But do I believe that things will change significantly? I struggle with that. When confronted with that question... say I'm discussing the effects of jobs moving overseas, and major employers running their HQ from bank boxes in Grand Cayman... do I believe that John Forbes Kerry will lift the first finger to put an end to that practice? My Majick Mental 8-Ball says "No."

And when confronted with the idea that Bush might win, with some apparent hijinks afoot -- will there be an ensuing revolution? Again, the 8-Ball says little to reassure me. But I'm supposed to ask again later.

But then again, the 8-Ball is about as reliable as a NY Post VP cover story. So I suppose that's about as good as it gets.

And that's gotta be good enough for now.