ELECTION DAY
Ah yes, Election Day is here. It used to be that I would get
incredibly excited to vote (although I still exercise my vote as you all know)
and watch the coverage like an eager (and naïve) spectator. Now I'm just excited for all the election spam email to stop appearing in my inbox! Not to mention, by the time election day comes along, I achingly long
for the cease-fire between the opposing sides (god we're so juvenile). For some reason this time around, the election has truly brought out the
vitriol in people and they have no problem expressing their opinion (which I
respect if it’s done in a certain way) in crude, hateful and often ignorant
ways. That part I’m used to, humans never cease to amaze me at how ignorant
they can be. The part that I can never seem to get used to is the part of
politics where people truly believe that an opinion has to be based in hate.
It’s an opinion, people. For many of you, it’s not even based in fact. So please, spare
the ‘did anyone check his birth certificate’ b.s., go open a book and learn
something that is grounded in fact.
When it comes to politics, if you haven’t figured out by
now, it is called partisan politics because it is just that, split down the
middle like a giant coconut. And there will always be people who believe in blue
and those that believe in green and sadly nowadays there is very little yellow being
made. In short, your guy will never be my guy and vice versa. Not to mention, these days blame is simply the name of the game. Most people will blame the guy that came
before for all that ails them (forgetting that someone came before him and him
and him and so on) and forget that politics is a long road filled with corrupt
agenda seeking individuals surrounded by more agenda seeking individuals,
wrapped up in more greedy money grubbing individuals until you find yourself with
one big giant corrupt onion.
So as I’m smart enough to know that the game of politics is
never changing – it’s far too interwoven and profitable – here is what I hope
and pray for: a world where people actually start taking responsibility for
themselves and stop blaming everyone one else for their own screw ups. I long for a world where people stop thinking that their lives are run by one
singular man (god please can that be a woman at some point in the near future)
with a set of ideals (that are just that, ideals). It is never going to be that simple. I hope
for an age where people actually realize that when they are taking out a credit
card they shouldn’t have, or a mortgage they can’t afford it is THEIR fault, not to mention their job to have the willpower to say no. It is not your President’s fault, it is not even your banker/mortgage lender's fault (even though they are most likely not driven by pure intentions). It is up to you to manage your own life and finances. I also yearn
for a day when people will realize that helping one’s fellow man is not
communism and giving to those that have no opportunities whatsoever (if you don't know what this truly means, you are NOT one of these people. You have opportunities) is not
anti-capitalism. It’s called being human. You should try it.
Furthermore, it would be so refreshing and I think a true
game changer, if we as people started acting responsible for not only what we do, but what we say. Hate filled
rhetoric is utterly futile and just that, a proponent of hate. It serves no
purpose other than poisoning the well and sucking the goodness out of life. If you don’t like who is running the
country, then get involved in your community, make a sodding difference on a
smaller scale; don’t just run your mouth off that the other guy is the devil
incarnate because you are only going on what you’re given. And most
importantly, realize now that the other guy, that knight and shining armor you
are clinging so firmly to, well he’s probably not going to make your life any
better. Hate to break it to you, but that’s up to us.
Happy voting people.