Friday, November 9, 2012

Ranting and Not Writing

I hope you'll forgive me the rant, especially after my blogging partner has entertained you with such helpful tips about writing.  I'd like to issue a disclaimer that this particular post reflects my feelings only...at least as far as I know.  Like the song says..That's (This is) my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I'm not only an author, I'm an American disappointed in the recent outcome of the presidential election.  I claim no allegiance to one side or the other, rather I try to vote for the candidate I feel is  most qualified  to govern a nation.  Mr. Obama didn't possess the qualifications the first time around and clearly hadn't made any positive changes in his four-year term  Sad, that if you don't favor him, you're considered a racist, but honestly there are some of us who don't see color.  Even people of his own race were referred to as "Uncle Tom's" if they didn't support his candidacy.

  The one thing that stands out to me is how someone who traveled around the world, apologizing on behalf of the American people, could have done anything to stir respect or instill any type of feeling that we are worthy of respect or a show of strength.  But, with that said, the main reason I'm writing this today rather than relating my blog to writing is to see how many of you agree with the fact that the two-party system is no longer serving the people.

Years ago, there was rhyme and reason to having the GOP and Democratic parties, but those days have past.  The entire system divides our country rather than unites them in one goal...finding the best person for the job.  Having two parties draws a line in the sand and makes people decide on which side they will stand.  There are diehard folks on both sides who feel it is their responsibility to vote party lines no matter what.  We should dissolve that line, all stand united, and vie to find that perfect candidate.

Oh, of course we have Independent Candidates and Green Party Candidates, but you hear very little about those people and they have no chance of getting the votes.  The amount of money spent by both major candidates during their campaigns could have resolved a large part of our national debt or fed and housed some of our homeless. And it's time the popular vote spoke instead of the Electoral College.  There is no way any states should bear more importance than another when electing someone in such an critical role.  I don't know about you, but I felt like my vote was a waste of time since I didn't live in a "swing" state.  Sad, that by the time our west coast has voted, the outcome is already known. The media is biased and doesn't report anything that might cast a negative light on the incumbent. Even our independent news channels are divided by that invisible line..CNN favors one party while FOX favors another.  

Wouldn't you rather not have to declare a party affiliation and vote your conscience?  I know I do, and although I didn't vote for our current president, I still wish him luck in meeting any of his goals.  I hope he can find the bi-partisan cooperation he seeks, but I just don't see it happening.  The two party system creates a competition that makes each side want to declare they won.  More than anything,  I  don't understand the sense of entitlement people have in thinking that someone fortunate enough to have made a success of themselves in life have a responsibility to the middle class.  I don't feel that a friend who went to college, earned her degree, worked hard to build a business and makes a comfortable living owes me part of her earnings.  Where's the logic?  Color me dumb.

My last bone of contention is term limits.  If our Presidents can only serve two terms, how come others can make a career out of politics?  It's time to set limits on everyone in Washington so we can rid ourselves of ineffective so-called lawmakers who are in the business for themselves rather than the public who keep voting them back into office.  Reed and Pelosi?  Really? California and Nevada are two states in the worst financial mess ever and these two were voted back in to the messes they helped create?  I'm not the only one who needs to be colored dumb.  :)



Okay, I got this out of my system, so now I'll go back to writing fiction.  Here's to the next four years.  I hope we all fare well.

13 comments:

  1. Basically every first world country but the USA has been surviving – and thriving – for decades and decades on the changes Obama has been trying to bring to America (healthcare!). It’s quite shocking to those of us outside of America that you have a society where people can literally not afford an ambulance, even if they’re dying!

    The conservative media in America has been scaremongering with cries of “Communism” and “They’ll take your money!”
    It’s both wrong, and insulting to the rest of the modern world, who feel like our societies are being included in those attacks.

    Speaking as someone who has lived in multiple thriving countries with established social assistance systems, believe me, America needed to catch up, not lag behind in its current feudal state.

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    1. Basia: As far as I know, in America you get the use of an ambulance and the emergency room regardless of whether you have insurance or the ability to pay or not. Those who refer to Socialism (not Communism) are aware of history and the countries that have fallen due to the Socialist agenda. Russia comes immediately to mind. Greece? Others are quickly joining their ranks.

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    2. True, you do get the use, but their services can easily bankrupt you. How healthy is THAT for the economy?

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  2. Well said, Ginger. I vote for the person not the party. In this case, I wanted the person who could improve the economy, not worsen it.

    Ref: Basia: It's called Socialism, not Communism. And they're already taking our money so there's no need to use future tense.

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  3. The fact is that other first world countries AREN'T thriving on socialism. Great Britain is a fine example. Or perhaps Greece would suit you better as an example, Basia. We are not a people who need to catch up. We need to remember our core values and why we became independent in the first place. It was never supposed to be about governmental nannyism from cradle to grave. For those of us who still believe in the ideas of the Founding Fathers, we happily say you can keep your social assistance systems.

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    1. Sorry ... had a typo! I meant to say "Hear, hear, Gabrielle" (which is an abbreviation for "hear, all ye good people, hear what this brilliant and eloquent speaker has to say!" -- yes, I looked it up, and and I heartily agree with that sentiment).

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  5. I agree that the electoral college is a sham and it needs to go. And term limits SHOULD be implemented for both the House and the Senate. If they new their reign of power was limited, fewer folks would aspire to political positions leaving those that truly want to help the country to fill them.

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  6. I've managed to stay mostly out of the political debate this season, but agree that I, too, am sorely disappointed. Our government was put into place more than 200 years ago NOT to dole out food stamps but to protect us and enforce the laws and rights given us by the constitution.

    I've been poor -- dirt poor, collecting cans to make money for food while barely surviving on carrots and white rice once a day (the two cheapest foods when I was 18). I never NEVER expected anyone to help me (not even my parents and certainly not my government). I was able-bodied and smart, willing to work and ambitious. I didn't have health insurance, I paid for my own birth control and I never went on food stamps or welfare. Eventually I worked two jobs (as did my roommate) and I slowly got my head above water ON MY OWN.

    I am angered by those who EXPECT the government to help them for their entire lives (or that they somehow deserve a smart phone -- I don't believe that's a necessity for life). Welfare, as an idea, is a good one -- with time limits, with a requirement to work in some capacity and with mandatory drug testing. I am not without a heart for the needy. I give to my local food pantry, I donate to many charities, but I firmly believe the government has better things to do, like stabilize the economy and strengthen our military. THAT is what matters. The rest is all noise.

    And, as others have said here, I don't vote along party lines. I consider myself an independent thinker, I vote with my brain (not my lady parts, thankyouverymuch) and I don't care if a candidate is white, black or purple.

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  7. This is one well-written blog ... and I agree 200% ... I'm so disappointed in the results .. and as many of you have voiced, I'm not big on politics - but as an American and a woman that is informed . . . I'm so sick of the 'free' ... this 'free' that ... and it's us hard-working Americans who have to pay for all that FREEE! I'm sick of it .. and four more years of FREE will leave us flat broke -- and who is going to pay then??

    When our president can stand up and say he hates 'colonialism' people should scream and run the other way! Socialism will destroy us . . . and I truly believe that is the downhill slide Obama is leading us. Heaven & God help us. It scares me that our president wears a ring that is engraved on the inside that says, "The only God is Allah."

    There . . . I've shared how I truly feel. Rita

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  8. It is a sad state of affairs when the congressional leaders tell the whole world that they won't work with the President. We need to use our rights to tell them,"Work or else".

    I also feel that Obama is leading this country in the wrong direction. I have never been so frightened of the future as I am now. I worked for years and am now retired on a government pension( State of Louisiana). I do not now, nor will I ever be able to draw Social Security, even tho I contributed to it. I wonder if the Senators and Representatives are governed by the same rules? Or will they be able to draw both a government pension and Social Security?

    I also vote for the person I feel will do the best job and help The United States of America. Sadly, I don't think the person elected is up to the challenge.

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