1-28-06 What's Wrong With America
If you give people too many things to handle at once, they get confused.
I think that's the basis of how we're being governed, lately. Well, I suppose you could call it governance, but it looks more like rape to me.
I'm not talking a partisan line on this, because the raping and pillaging has been a joint effort for many years, now. The problem isn't that we're electing the wrong people to office. The problem is that nobody's being elected to anything anymore, because voter turnout in elections is below 50% just about all the time. Since the majority of the population in America doesn't bother to vote anymore, it's no longer a "government of the people, by the people..." and most especially, "...for the people."
It might be the heart of the matter, but there are so many other things that are askew these days that nobody really has the attention span (or the time) to become conversant with more than one or two issues. So, I'll just give you one thing to focus on, politically... you're being fucked.
The way to respond to this situation is to vote. It doesn't really matter whether you vote for one party or the other, just as long as you don't vote for any incumbents. In other words, vote against whoever's currently holding the office. The message you'll be sending is, "I don't like the way things have been going."
Of course, if you DO like the way things are going, then vote for the incumbents. The message you'll be sending in that case is, "I like the way things are going."
It's not about which party is "better" than the other, really. It's about whether you exercise the one responsibility you have as a US citizen that matters, ie- your right to vote. All the other rights and privileges that you have as an American just exist, you can either exercise any of those rights or not. It's not going to matter that much. But your right to vote carries a simple responsibilty with it. You do have to set aside that few minutes on election day, and cast your vote.
When you don't vote, the message you're sending is "I don't care how things are going."
Office holders will only pay attention to those who care enough about how things are going to actually send them a message. If the majority of the electorate sends the message, "I don't care enough about how things are going to bother to vote," then they'll assume they don't have to do anything for you. And they'll be absolutely correct in that assumption. So, in that case, who do you think they're going to be working for?
It's a very simple thing. Nobody has to strain their brain to understand how important voting is.
You can vote against all incumbents. Or you can vote for everybody that's already there. Or you can pick and choose between some who are already there, and against others that you'd like to see lose. Or you can write in votes for your favorite cartoon characters. It's all about sending the message of whether you like the way things are going or not.
But not voting at all, sending the message that you don't care how things are going, is a clear mandate for office holders to do what's best for THEM, and nobody else.
The sad fact is that if you don't vote, then YOU are what's "wrong" with America.
I think that's the basis of how we're being governed, lately. Well, I suppose you could call it governance, but it looks more like rape to me.
I'm not talking a partisan line on this, because the raping and pillaging has been a joint effort for many years, now. The problem isn't that we're electing the wrong people to office. The problem is that nobody's being elected to anything anymore, because voter turnout in elections is below 50% just about all the time. Since the majority of the population in America doesn't bother to vote anymore, it's no longer a "government of the people, by the people..." and most especially, "...for the people."
It might be the heart of the matter, but there are so many other things that are askew these days that nobody really has the attention span (or the time) to become conversant with more than one or two issues. So, I'll just give you one thing to focus on, politically... you're being fucked.
The way to respond to this situation is to vote. It doesn't really matter whether you vote for one party or the other, just as long as you don't vote for any incumbents. In other words, vote against whoever's currently holding the office. The message you'll be sending is, "I don't like the way things have been going."
Of course, if you DO like the way things are going, then vote for the incumbents. The message you'll be sending in that case is, "I like the way things are going."
It's not about which party is "better" than the other, really. It's about whether you exercise the one responsibility you have as a US citizen that matters, ie- your right to vote. All the other rights and privileges that you have as an American just exist, you can either exercise any of those rights or not. It's not going to matter that much. But your right to vote carries a simple responsibilty with it. You do have to set aside that few minutes on election day, and cast your vote.
When you don't vote, the message you're sending is "I don't care how things are going."
Office holders will only pay attention to those who care enough about how things are going to actually send them a message. If the majority of the electorate sends the message, "I don't care enough about how things are going to bother to vote," then they'll assume they don't have to do anything for you. And they'll be absolutely correct in that assumption. So, in that case, who do you think they're going to be working for?
It's a very simple thing. Nobody has to strain their brain to understand how important voting is.
You can vote against all incumbents. Or you can vote for everybody that's already there. Or you can pick and choose between some who are already there, and against others that you'd like to see lose. Or you can write in votes for your favorite cartoon characters. It's all about sending the message of whether you like the way things are going or not.
But not voting at all, sending the message that you don't care how things are going, is a clear mandate for office holders to do what's best for THEM, and nobody else.
The sad fact is that if you don't vote, then YOU are what's "wrong" with America.
posted by Jeff Barnard at 4:51 AM
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