Voting Booth, Volume VI

I won't vote for that candidate because she's a woman.

I won't vote for this candidate because he's black.

I won't vote for that candidate because he's old.

why is one of these statements acceptable?

Would we not label someone sexist or racist if we ever heard either of the first two statements uttered? Why, then, do we not call someone ageist if we hear the third?

We patterned our government after that of the Greeks. The Romans also patterned their (early) government after the Greeks as well. We get several words from the Romans. One word we got from them is "Authority." It's root word is the Roman word "Auctoritas." in Roman society, "Auctoritas" referred to the respect a person deserved. It was their clout among the people earned due to their age.

Their desire for "Auctoritas" and their respect for it is evident when we compare their artwork with that of a culture that revered youthfulness: The Greeks.

Here is a Greek bust:

Themistocles age 44

And here is a Roman bust:

Marius age 50

As you can see, these men would have been separated by a mere 6 years when these likenesses were carved. But look at the age lines and time-wear etched in Marius' face. Compare that to the ancient "Oil of Olay" advertisement that is Themistocles.

When did we lose this respect for the mature?

This leads me to my title for this campaign season. I have no choice but to call this the "Why?" campaign.

Why?

Whenever I see an Obama bumper-sticker or a McCain lawn sign I can't help but think: "why?" Why do you support this candidate? With all of the sound bytes that we've heard, and all of the "coverage" of these two men I know nothing more about what they stand for than I did four months ago!

Sure I make certain assumptions based on their party, but that's about where it ends.

Here is an exhaustive list of what I know about these candidates platforms:

McCain:
Stay in Iraq until we are done.
Wants to limit punitive damages to bring down health care insurance

Obama:
Wants a "withdrawal horizon" for Iraq
Favors universal government controlled healthcare
Wants to continue and expand GWB "Faith based" initiatives.

That's it. For all the "Change you can believe in," "this is our moment," "McCain Mc-Can!" that I've been hearing this is clearly a substance less race!

Anyone care to share their "Why?" Feel free!