Several people here in Colorado who voted Republican chastised me for voting Third Party, because my vote won't count, or that I was voting for Obama. But the "funny" thing is, even though they voted Republican the State's Electoral votes were given to President Obama. So all in all their votes didn't count either and in a way the votes representing them were given to the person who they vehemently opposed.
Just the other day a friend invited me to the Romney/Ryan rally at Red Rocks, I politely declined the invite via email by saying merely, "Sorry, but I'm not voting for them." Here's the conversation that followed...
Friend: "You're voting for Obama?"
Me: "No. 3rd Party. See my blog."
Friend: "Even if the 3rd party more closely resembles your values
and allows you to vote your conscience, I know you know that voting
for a third party is not a vote for either man who will win the election :-)"
So I should vote for someone who still has a 50% probability of losing, at the expense of my values and conscience?!
Americans would be outraged to hear about a nation who was on the cusp of liberty, yet were only provided two candidates to pick from, that had been bought and paid for by big business and other unknown sponsors; and candidates being arrested because they attempted to take part in a debate. Yet that's what's going on right here in America!
It is estimated that the 2012 Presidential and Congressional campaigns will cost $5.8 Billion dollars! Why all the advertising? Because they want to convince you that you cannot live without them. Without a big, intrusive government we'd be like helpless children, a ship without a a rudder. In general our politicians aren't serving out of a heartfelt sense of civic duty, but because there are lots of perks and money involved.
Somewhere along the way Americans have surrendered their pioneering passion of personal liberty, self-reliance, adventure, and freedom; trading it in for the mentality that our government has our best interests in mind. Even those who are so vocal about the government tampering in our lives, or creating an "entitlement" society, attempt to use the vilified "big brother" to accomplish their goals, whether religious, personal or financial. I am not saying I haven't been caught up in this lifestyle. I've always voted Republican, after all it was the "Christian" thing to do. I voted for the Pro-Life candidates, merely because the voting guide I got from Focus on the Family recommended them. And I tithed to my church expecting them to be responsible and benevolent with my donations. I mistakenly felt that I'd done my duty, never really thinking about how actions speak louder. If my community or nation is screwed up, if people are unloved and hungry, it isn't my fault - it's the government's fault. It's that B.S., DON'T BLAME ME I VOTED FOR _______, mindset.
Why do we put up with our political status quo? If you've listened to any of the debates, and then had the strength to continue watching long enough to hear the fact checking; you'd find out that most of what Romney and Obama are saying are lies and "half-truths". The way I was raised "half-truths" were still lies. Why is anyone putting their hope or trust in these liars?
Every election season we hear and feel the pressure of the whoa is me messages, about how much help our country needs to right the ship. Then every four years it is the same 'ol thing, and nothing has changed regardless of who's been elected. We have a government that continues to grow and be unaccountable, national debt that is beyond ridiculous, and out of control spending like our government robbed a bank. I feel rebellious, or even wrong for trying to discuss thinking differently about how we interact with our ELECTED governmental officials. Our nation was founded on rebelliousness, and desire to not have our lives dictated to us by a government. Now thinking for yourself, and speaking out against the corruption that our Two Party system resides in is tantamount to: being unpatriotic, sacrilegious, or even treasonous.
In the days following the election I've heard and read sooo many complaints about the result, the electoral votes, etc. I even read a comment on Facebook that in essence said the guy would assassinate President Obama given the chance. I think reading all the hatred, and doom & gloom messages were worse than the endless months of political advertisements. But this response clearly indicates that we have handed over our welfare and lives to politicians. Why do we continue to allow our government to dictate our destiny to us? It seems that regardless of where people fall politically there is an air of unified frustration. Yet year after year we instead of giving our "representatives" votes of no confidence, we hope and maybe even pray that maybe just maybe the end result will be different. That's just crazy! We need to plainly and clearly remind our politicians that they work for us, not big money, not special interests. If they are going to continue providing us taxation without representation, well, we need to throw them out.
No comments:
Post a Comment