If you are feeling, as I have been, disenfranchised by our political system and the state of our country and its economy, please reflect, as I have, and realize that whether we choose to participate in it or not, it WILL continue to function (in some degree) and produce an elected president in November.
If you fail to make a choice between the candidates and cast your vote, your lack of participation does have an effect. Plato said, “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” And in The Republic, he also said, “One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
Additionally, you must agree that change takes time. Our country did not wind up in an economic crisis overnight and it will take some time to effect change. “Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” ...Plato again. But how about this: "No president -- not me, not any of my predecessors -- no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years." That was Bill Clinton, arguably one of our better leaders, defending Obama in a speech he made to the DNC (9/5).
I don't much care for the current political system and I have no deep love for Obama. I was pleased that he was elected, but deflated when I discovered some detestable people from the Bush regime retained their positions in the Obama administration...it seemed like "business as usual", or "new president, same BS". I'm not even really stumping for Obama here as much as against Romney/Ryan.
I don't agree with everything the Democratic Party pushes for, but I have to say that the idea of being governed by a group of people who actively pursue limiting our personal freedoms is something I cannot abide. Mitt Romney seems out of touch with what most Americans are dealing with on a day-to-day basis, and Paul Ryan is pretty much the opposite of everything I personally believe in. But here's where Ryan and I differ the most: I respect his beliefs and viewpoints and his right to have them and act upon them. However, he wants his view made into laws that would affect others' rights to pursue their own happiness.
I can't be the only person who feels that creating legislation based on religious principles is contrary to the intent of our constitution and the opposite of why our founding fathers ever even came to America! Our country may not be perfect, but one thing we have that is special is the way our citizens have protected rights. This means that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan get to say and do whatever they want in any consensual situation...burn books, teach creationism to their children, dislike gays and women, glorify war, practice Mormonism or Southern Baptist or any other religion, or pretty much do anything else they want that they both consent to doing (secretly boffing each other after political strategy sessions?)...because our laws protect their freedom to choose what they decide is best for themselves. It does NOT give them the right to decide what's best for ME or anyone else.
Why they want to change that is beyond me. Why they even care who's having sex with whom or why anyone wants to get married anyways is just crazy. Let the gays be as miserable as the straights!
And c'mon folks, didn't we learn anything from Prohibition? Do you have ANY idea how FAST we'd get out of an economic crisis if we legalized drugs and taxed them instead? A drop in crime (no drug murders or gangs) and a spike in revenue (stop sending all that illegally obtained cash to drug lords) would be exactly what we need. Plus, all the money we'd save from releasing all non-violent drug offenders from the penal system could help fund awareness, education, and rehabilitation programs instead. And all the money we spend on the DEA could be used to help enforce regulations that make sense instead of wasting taxpayer dollars. And I don't even do drugs! But dammit, I took Economics 101and even I understand the basic concept of supply and demand. And PS: by the way, prisons for profit creates a demand for prisoners.
Right now, I demand that my rights be upheld. I demand that my president tries to understand what I'm dealing with and cares enough to try and help me. I demand that my leaders protect my rights even if they disagree with how I choose to live my life because that is my right as a citizen and their duty as my elected official. I demand accountability for the way my tax dollars are spent and I demand a president I can believe in and trust to have my best interests in mind every time he makes a presidential decision. I don't expect my president to be perfect, I expect him to be human...just like me.
That is why I am casting my vote for Barak Obama. I hope you will join me in supporting his campaign, because I think we make a difference even with just $1.00 donated towards his campaign. If you would like to join me and Bill Clinton in supporting Barak Obama, please click here to donate to his campaign in my grassroots fundraiser.
Oh yes, we can! Again.
If you are not sure what to believe or who to agree with, please do a little research on some facts and don't listen only to sound bites delivered by talking heads on the news. Every news agency has a slant, nobody is unbiased anymore. To find facts you have to use some critical thinking skills, and I have faith in you. If you're going to be lazy and listen to someone else instead of doing the work for yourself, then listen to me and vote for Obama. If you don't care who wins, then vote for Obama, because I care. And whether you believe in our political system or not, you will continue as a citizen to be subjected to the outcomes of its elections. It is your civic duty to cast your vote. So whether you choose Red or Blue, please, just VOTE!
At least that will give you the right to complain about whoever winds up in the Oval Office.
...and, if you are the enterprising sort, I invite you to read my Blog #12, about politics and fascism, which I wrote almost exactly four years ago.
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