Obama or McCain, there is no difference

How can there be a difference? Do you really believe that all the shit that has been constantly hitting the fan in these past 8 years or so is George Bush’s doings? Seriously, you believe that?

Musharraf was ‘planted’ by Bush, and now is replaced by Zardari, or orders of Bush. Hence ended the simplified guide to the universe.

Think about it for a moment now, Bush? Who finds it hard to form a coherent sentence with full concentration and both hands, that guy caused all of this? Yes, it was under Mr. Bush that we saw Americans carry out attacks that were merciless (merciless not because a lot of people died, merciless because till this day, there is no justification for it at all), we saw America lose more than just face in the international community, we saw the American economy nose dive like a dead bird, we saw a sharp rise in terrorism, especially in Pakistan, yes we saw it all when America was under Bush. But was he, this single man, the cause of all of this?

No.

The forces at play are much stronger, and are based on more than just a single person. And no, I am not saying it is a Zionist-imperialist conspiracy to control the world economy and the revolutions-per-second of your ceiling fan, please, stop giving credit where it is not due. The forces that lead to all of this are not focused around Bush, they are focused around a system. The system that automatically puts Americans at war (the world war) to pull out of thier much-touted depression, the system that automatically sends troops (of multiple nationalities) to war zones all over Asia and parts of Europe.

Now, this may be harder to explain than I initially thought. Example: CIA. An intelligence agency working to secure American interests. As part of the whole, the CIA’s job is to gather intelligence and act upon it, given the system it operates under. Now, if the CIA sees a terrorist functioning freely say, in Peshawar, they will not just jump the gun and attack; they follow a system, a protocol of sorts. It does not involve taking permission from one single man called the President. What it does involve is the mobilization of other agencies (institutions in their own right) to gather resources. As per a set system, the CIA confirms from another agency (Pentagon, DOD, whatever, it’s an example here!), and as per their ‘legal’ right, takes action. From that angle, it is pure business operations. The President is not supposed to know. He plays the part of a Shepard, but a distant Shepard, the one who doesn’t know if the third sheep from the left has a hairline fracture or the fifth sheep from the right is planning to play dead. He doesn’t know because the system is set up as such. The CEO of the company does know of what has happened, but in a lot of cases, after it has happened, in the form of a report ‘first thing in the morning’. Imagine some business tycoon like Richard Branson knowing that some employee working for his company just overcharged a customer, deliberately. He, for all practical intents and purposes, can never know unless the customer complains, right? Right. Now, this is where the system, as always, steps in. The customer complains, but to whom? The shop manager? Or calls Branson directly? Of course, the shop manager. The shop manager may be in on it. IF the customer is not satisfied with the shop owner, he or she may call Branson directly, given that his direct phone number is available, which again for all intents and purposes is not (and for good reason, obviously). The system ensures that the number is not freely available. Imagine now for a second, that the pissed-off customer does manage to get Branson’s direct line, and gets to talk to him. After the complaint, the customer will be told that ‘I will look into it immediately’. After that, Branson will not call the over-charging store employee, he will call some form of a regional manager, who will then call the store manager, who will then talk to the employee. By this time, of course, the damage has been done. Heck, Branson, after satisfying the customer (which may involve just talking to him or her), might make the system more fool-proof, “who the hell gave him my number?”

I told you, it is hard to explain, but the system is such that you have to work within it. Even to change it. Systems never get changed from the exterior. They get ripped open and discarded from the exterior (e.g. revolutions), but they never get changed. Replaced, yes, changed, no. To change it, you need to be within it. This makes it all the more harder to change a system. Revolutions in most cases, are a result of either extreme frustration at the inability of the system to change, or the laziness of the revolutionaries to even try to change the system.

The benefits of a system always outweighs the absence of it. But in the case of American and world politics, this now seems to be untrue. The decisions taken by the grounds’ men (CIA etc) are not in line with the decisions taken by the front men (White House). There is no way within the system to know that the decisions are in tandem or not. We as public or as an interface of public do not know, as per system settings. So there is no one to blame. But it never gets to that. The President is there to blame, as per system settings. Heh. As part of the system, it is the President’s job to take credit or blame. The system itself, like every system, is one big mass of inertia that just does not like change. Obama talks about change. So that means he is good? Well, not really. Obama knows how to talk. Period. Only hindsight will tell us if the front man (to-be) of this magnificently cold system has the sheer determination and cartloads of luck to actually change the system itself. The only good thing is that Change is number one in his agenda.

But change is always a dangerous thing. Obama may change it for the better, or may change it for the worse, who knows? I am sure, not even Mr. Obama knows. I wish him all the luck, but as stated earlier, only hindsight will tell us. And hindsight doesn’t give a damn.