McConaughey, Carlin, Hedges And The Outsiders: What I Wish This Election Was

In Season One of TV’s True Detective, actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson deliver the following exchange:

McConaughey: “In philosophical terms I am what is called a pessimist.”

Harrelson: “Ummm … okay. What does that mean?”

McConaughey: “It means I’m bad at parties.”

I enjoyed McConaughey’s character — because I identified with his self-assessment.

I too am bad at parties. And not just the social kind. The political Parties as well.

I have long been a man without a political Party. Certainly as the Republican and Democrat Parties are constituted nationally. And since D.C. has spent the last many decades usurping as much state and local power as possible? The down ballot Parties more and more resemble the national ones.

Ironically, McConaughey the Person recently expressed a similar sentiment. In an October 18th Instagram video, McConaughey encouraged people to consider voting outside the Republican-Democrat paradigm:

“They’ve been telling us for years that an independent vote is a wasted vote. Well, a great question for our times is: ‘How’s that un-wasted vote been working out for you?'”

That is an excellent question. To which the answer is, of course, “Horrendously.”

I liked McConaughey’s video even before Hillary Clinton called it “really unfortunate.”

McConaughey’s video sentiment is a surface analysis of the problem.  A celebrity who delved deeply into it for years was the late, great comedian George Carlin. Here he is back in, I believe, 2008:

“The owners of this country …. The real owners. The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners.”

I agree with McConaughey’s sentiment. I agree with Carlin’s analysis.

Political observer Chris Hedges interestingly describes the Democrat Party as the corporatist party — and the Republican Party as the oligarch party.