They Did What !

We will shortly be moving into the election cycle and maybe before we decide how to vote, we should ask ourselves some questions. We could start by taking a long look at the results of how we have been voting. We can continue to elect the people who tell us what we want to hear (how’s that working for us?), or we could start electing people who tell us the truth even when we don’t like what we hear - they are called “Leaders.�

Once we hear the truth, we could look at it from the big picture perspective of what is best for our country, our whole country and not just for our state, our local area, or our own personal interests. Whatever our political views, we are first and foremost Americans and the state of our country is of utmost concern to us all.

Throughout our history, Americans have shown a willingness to work for the common good. Now, at this troubled time in our history, it is important to understand what that greater good is. We don’t learn that listening to the news (whether Fox or CBS), or to politicians with a priority of getting re-elected who pander to local interests and special interests. What we get from these sources does not show that there is a big picture, much less what it is.

Let’s look at where we are - righteousness has been replaced with self-righteousness; we listen only to those who agree with us; venting our anger in vitriolic language has replaced honest debate; labeling and name calling are the order of the day; and truth has become as elusive as the fountain of youth. How did things get to this state?

Maybe through a lack of vigilance – allowing ourselves to be distracted by all the toys available, by all the sensationalistic stories that pass for news, by the half-truths and outright lies of elected officials treating us like children who cannot deal with the truth. Why shouldn’t they treat us like that? It works. We keep re-electing them don’t we?

Maybe by allowing ourselves to be sucked into the extremism of single issue voting - abortion, same sex marriage, the war. We will vote for a candidate who agrees with us on a single issue even if he is dishonest and incompetent. We will not vote for an able and honest candidate if he does not agree with us on a single issue, all the while declaring self-righteously that we are voting our values. Let's look at the result of this selective morality where we pick and choose which values to support and which to ignore. Are we satisfied with the government it has given us?

Maybe by allowing sound bites, PR companies, spin doctors, smear campaigns and special interests, to be the deciding factors in how we vote. Instead of insisting that candidates tell us the truth about their stand on the important issues facing our country, we allow them to side-step, double speak, and skirt these issues. We accept scripted debates, rigged Town Hall Meetings, and canned speeches as if they actually tell us something. They don’t. They are simply the products of those PR companies, spin doctors, and special interests. Why do we accept these tactics instead of demanding honest answers?

Even now, with scandals rife in politics at all levels, both Democrats and Republicans, just keep on with business as usual. Are we the people really so gullible, or so lazy, or so whatever it is that keeps us doing what we are doing, that we don’t realize the time has come to throw open our windows, stick our heads out and yell, “I’m madder than hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!�

If we truly want to vote our best interests, then we need to vote based on what is best for our country. We need elected officials who will trust us enough to help us see the truth of what that is. Surely most of us are mature enough, intelligent enough, and basically good enough to put aside our personal interests if we see that what benefits us will, in the long run, not be good for our country as a whole. When our country does well, we all do well. We need to elect officials who understand that and act accordingly. Or… we can keep doing what we have been doing and expect a different result (as we all know, that is the definition of insanity).

So… To be or not to be (sane)? That is the real question!