Franken Rally: Herding the sheeple

This morning I am sitting inside of a coffee shop in St. Louis Park, awaiting the arrival of one Mr. Al Franken, candidate for U.S. Senate. Outside there are throngs of people awaiting a stump speech that, I am sure, will make them applaud and cheer and have just a great time.

When I got here there were several people in Franken T-shirts and holding Franken signs. Now the patio of the coffee shop is filled with Franken supporters.

While I am a supporter of Franken, in that I am likely to vote for him and read his books, I am feeling like the whole rally is full of the converted just wanting to touch the candidate. Or they are people that want to touch fame.

My aunt may or may not have coined the phrase "sheeple." It is what she calls people who blindly follow who will ever show them the way. If you are able to force sway on these folks, you could get a lot done.

I am a follower in so far that I want things done on my behalf but things that benefit society as a whole, not just a select few. If a politician can get things done for all then I am in full support. This is the ideal of the Democratic Party that I want. The Republicans, well, it's all for one and none for you, unless you have deep pockets.

Most of the people who are here right now look to be those that just want to be next to famous people. Sure it will also bring in their votes, if they do bother to vote, but it will also give them that sense of importance that they seem so desperate to have in their lives.

This election season I am not putting on bumper stickers or yard signs or really do anything other than talk about the issues as I know them. That's what a voter should be doing, not blindly waving their banners. Just watch the Daily Show and see a media member rip them apart. Those that blindly follow go over the cliff. I, for one, don't want to be with them.

So, as the rally goes on and we hear the rhetoric, that which we force our candidates to spout in the information age, it is to do our own homework, learn about what is important to us, and forget about rallies. They only preach to the choir of sheeple.