Well, here we are a few days ahead of the November Election. It is time to once again choose the lesser of two evils, or at least the person that you dislike the least. I think it’s sad that it has gone this far, or sunk this low, depending on how you choose to look at elections. Shouldn’t elections bring out the best in people? I thought name calling and lying about what happened yesterday stopped being acceptable behavior in first grade?
I don’t want to get into any particular race, or pick on either party. Each party are as guilty and pathetic as the other one. My main point in writing this post is to decry the general state of politics, especially this election cycle. There seems to be so much divisiveness and petulance over the most ridiculous topics that most people have failed to see the larger issues. That is a little sad, a little scary, and exactly what each candidate wants. I will not claim a conspiracy; that would be stupid. These people can’t work together to form a conspiracy; they can’t even talk to each other without attacking each other’s mother’s virtue and indistinct family lineage. I just think that most, if not all, of the current crop of politians are inept and unfit for office.
Douglas Adams once said that the last person that should ever be allowed to be president is the person running for office. There is definitely something different about anyone that chooses to run for any office these days. It must be equal levels of narcissism and optimism. A modern politician is a person that believes that they are the best person to be in charge, even though they hire image, policy, and election consultants. They want the power to shape the world but are unable to answer simple policy questions without a committee of experts to blame later. They must believe that one person can’t possibly be expected to run for office and have the knowledge necessary to do the job, there simply isn’t enough time in the day to do both! They also believe that people will understand that. These candidates for office also hope that the people smart enough to forgive their lack of knowledge or situational ethics will be dumb enough to believe what they claimed about their opponent in their last negative advertisement.
I don’t think any of that is anything new, but the radicalization of the above is. Political races are centering around issues that are stomach churning. Gay civil rights, illegal immigration, and creationism are just a few. I do not understand why some people feel that it is appropriate to tell someone that they are less worthy than the person standing next to them. I really don’t understand how people can argue religious belief as a science. What’s worse, I can’t understand how so many other people will rally around this idiotic views and claim the moral high ground. I would really like to think that a vast majority of Americans would believe that what religion you practice, who you love, or what color you are just doesn’t matter. Each may shape you as a person, but what you are doesn’t define who you are.
I am saddened that all of this foolishness is grabbing headlines when there are real issues out there. There is still at least one war going on, depending on how you count wars. There is record unemployment. There are homes being lost at record rates. I wish candidates would focus on that instead of trampling human rights of minority groups. Heck, I wish they would focus on those issues instead of outright lying to us about their opponents!
I think the time is right for a new party, or better yet, new leadership in both of the existing parties. Let’s hold them accountable for what they say and do. Let’s vote for people that don’t make us ashamed, let’s vote for the ones that make us proud. I think we need to demand better choices at the polls. I think we should ask “why” more. When a Politian claims that a group of people shouldn’t be given certain rights, we should ask why. When they say that it would be too hard to change laws to accommodate people, we should ask why. When they say that it is impossible to spend within a budget, we should ask why. When they say they haven’t read a bill but they need to vote for it, we need to ask why. Then every November we should let them know what we think about their response to our questions.
On Tuesday I am going to try to find people worth voting into office. I am going to choose based on who they are and what they stand for. I am not going to get caught up in the negative ads and the lies they tell. I am going to have done my research and vote with my head and heart. Please do the same. We don’t need to agree, but we do need to agree to be civil and respect each other.
