How did this happen? It seems like you can’t turn around anymore without spotting a politician who has no business being in charge of anything, let alone something as important as the country.
It’s no secret – bimbos get elected every year – but it is a problem. This is not the America our forefathers had in mind.
Any citizen can get elected to any office in America. That concept is both our greatest governmental achievement and our biggest, disaster-inducing pitfall.
The idea was that the most qualified person who wanted the job would end up with a shot at it, and then we the people would choose which qualified candidate we preferred.
Something has gone seriously awry.
Some of these candidates shouldn’t be trusted to choose their own outfits and words – forget about foreign policy or what’s best for Queens!
We should be sending forth our best and brightest to run the nation. People who have shown skill at solving difficult problems. People who have a special talent for seeing every side of an issue, and sharing that understanding with others. People who can make tough decisions and then stand by them, with logic and clear conviction – not just a whispered mantra.
If no one’s paying attention, why shouldn’t party lifers take the opportunity to fill our government with their many idiot cousins and grossly unqualified friends? Knowledge of finance and government policy? Who needs those?
America does! In an economic climate like this one (subarctic) we need politicians who can look the way things have been and see what needs to change. We need people who understand that cutting a firehouse from a budget doesn’t just affect that firehouse, but those nearby who can no longer rely on that backup. We need politicians who can think ahead.
We know nobody’s perfect, and mistakes will be made. But those mistakes would be easier to stomach if we could believe they really were made in good faith – not as an attempt to push along some misguided policy line. But how could we expect any different, when we continue to elect whoever has the prettiest name?
We need people who can actually do the job – doesn’t that matter anymore? Shouldn’t our politicians be those people who have the ability to be the best at making America better? Shouldn’t we, as a country, strive to continue climbing towards glory, rather than lackadaisically sliding into indifference?
It seems like a lot, especially in light of this tragically difficult economy. When times are this hard, it’s only natural that we all focus on taking care of number one – ourselves. But that kind of thinking isn’t what made America great.
We get it. We’ve all been there. It was a long workday. You still have to make dinner. There’s another bill to pay, you have to stop for bread on the way home… You just can’t be bothered to stop and vote.
But here’s the thing. If you want America to be different from other places – to be better, you have to act.
The storied America of old, where people did the right thing for no better reason than that it was right. Where people helped their neighbors – even helped strangers on the street. A place where right is different from wrong. Where people help old ladies, simply because it’s nice. And where we hold our ideals strong, untarnished – even if the rest of the world goes to violence and chaos. America is meant to be a place of honor. A place you’d be proud to leave your children.
If that’s the America you love, you have to be bothered. Find out who the candidates are. Find out what matters to you, and fight for
representatives who will battle for your causes.
Whatever you do, don’t just pick the name you think you may have heard before, or the one that sounds like a teacher you once had. Make an informed choice.
In these hard times, so much has been taken from you, from all of you – don’t give up your right to choose as well.
Don’t let apathy bring down your home, and your country.
After all, this is your country. See to it that it’s governed as YOU see fit. Starting with the elections.
