There are no cats in America...

...and the streets are paved with cheese.

Does anyone else remember this adorable, hopeful song sung by the Russian mice immigrating to America in the animated film An American Tail? Anyone? Anyone? The story chronicles Fievel Mousekewitz who is separated from his family during a storm on the ship taking them to their dream land. Fievel makes it to America and is eventually reunited with his family. But there are cats in America.

Last night on television I saw a political commercial from the Obama camp condemning McCain's wealth ("He can't even remember how many houses he owns. He owns seven.") I get it. The economy sucks and McCain is wealthy. But when did wealth and success become something to abhor? Isn't that, after all, the American dream? These commercials, designed to defame the opposing cadidate, only tarnish my impression of the campaign slinging the mud. I generally despise politics, and this commercial did nothing to instill any additional hope in what I see as the lesser of two evils.

A Republican aunt recently e-mailed me a YouTube video about Obama's (literal) vote of support for live birth abortion. It is an understandably horrific-sounding controversy, however, information without context does nothing to educate the viewer, and I hope to hit "delete" on all future e-mails and investigate the issues for myself. In my extended family (I exclude my parents and several cousins from this category), being a Republican is as important as being a Christian, if not more so. For them, Bush can do no wrong; I'm pretty sure he wakes each morning to a hot slice of apple pie and drives a Chevy to work with an eagle perched on his shoulder.

I would never claim to be politically savvy and refuse to label myself as belonging to either dominant party, but I hope I am open-minded enough to listen to the thoughts of both sides and make an educated decision based on the issues I deem most important to my family and the country. Now that McCain has chosen his unconventional running mate and begins his fight in earnest against an unconventional Democratic candidate, I'm sure the political scene will explode, showering citizens with the guts of candidates' inferred indiscretions until November.

I'm annoyed and disillusioned, but I will still show up to the polls when the time comes. I encourage you to do the same. Complacency won't solve anything, for better or for worse. Even though there are cats in America, vote anyway. If only because it's better than standing idly by while the dream turns into a nightmare.