Everywhere I turn, whether it be in school or at home, I hear people talking about the election. Most people explain their views on each candidate, and why one is better than the other. There is no more talk of the other candidates who ran for the GOP nomination. Earlier today, I stumbled upon an article about one of my favorite "politicians" - Vermin Supreme.
For those of you who don't know about Vermin Supreme, he is quite the character. Here is a great article that outlines his views and gives some good background information on him. He has ran for plenty of political positions all over the country, and this year, he ran as a Democrat for President of the United States. With his iconic boot on his head, and his bullhorn in hand, he travels around the country spreading his messages.
He uses his messages to mock the political system. He has some basic stances that he loves to share. First, he will pass a law during the first day of office that makes sure everyone brushes their teeth. Second, he will give everyone their own pony. Thirdly, he will go back in time to murder Hitler. Yes, these ideas sound hilarious and ridiculous, but he ran for President seriously: "I am a 100% candidate. I am running."
If you want to see his commitment in action, here is a video that I will guarantee you will laugh at. It is worth five minutes of your time if you have nothing important to do.
In times like we are in now, with a seemingly bad economy and controversial social activities going on, was a candidate who mocked what others stand for appropriate? Did Vermin Supreme's actions expose anything about the current political system, or was he just wasting his time?
Supreme's speech walks a fine line between irreverence and highlighting actual problems. On the one hand, he spends much of his opening minutes making poor puns about dental hygiene; on the other, his phrasings closely resemble the vaporous yet uplifting comments of many politicians. On the first hand again, his comments to the effect that the president has absolute, dictatorial control over the country are inaccurate to the point where they aren't even funny anymore; but on the other hand his statement of "I have no intention of keeping any promise that I make" calls attention to the problem you noted in your previous post: of late, it seems politicians will say anything to get elected, regardless of their agenda upon reaching D.C.
ReplyDeletePersonally I am in general a big fan of this type of activism. I think using humor can make people think about something from a perspective that they otherwise never would. The thing that I don't like about it as much is the fact that he's just there to point out problems, and never really does anything to suggest how to fix them.
ReplyDeleteI also just found a youtube video of Stephen Colbert in a congressional hearing. When I think of using humor to make a point, hes the first one that comes to mind.
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