Off Our Butts and On Our Feet

There are many things that bother me about this upcoming election. The mudslinging, the name calling, the media bias, the lies....I could go on. Something that bothers me to no end, though, is the single-mindedness of my fellow Americans. There are people in this country who vote strictly along their party's line. My own father is one of them. He say's he'll have relations with cattle before he ever votes for a Republican. Even if the Democratic Candidate was under indictment. I have friends that are so worried that they won't be able to call themselves "married", that they won't even consider voting for a conservative. If you ask the average American how their congressman voted last year, I guarantee at least 60% will have no clue.

People look at voting like they're launching a missile. "Fire and forget". We act, sometimes, as if our responsibility ends the minute we pull the lever in the voting booth.

If you owned a business, are you going to hire someone and never check up to see that they're doing what they were hired for? Of course not. Human nature being what it is, the temptation to take short-cuts or to do "their own thing", gets to everyone. Your business will self-destruct in no time. Our country is no different.

We would have no need for rhetoric and mudslinging if every citizen that voted kept their public servants in check. If the constituents kept better tabs on them, and kept them informed of how they were supposed to be voting, they wouldn't have time to be dipping into the cookie jar of corruption. If every time a politician blinked, one of his constituents was looking over his shoulder, how could he possibly get away with corruption. If the people would lobby for themselves, the high-powered lobbyists is D.C. would be out of a job.

This country is bigger than any one single issue. This election comes down to more than just one issue. Republican or Democrat or Independent, or Green Party, whoever...Each one has their own plan for this country. But this country doesn't need a rubber stamp ruler that's only going to vote the way "The Party" tells them too.

Stop blaming the politicians. It's us that's laying down on the job.