I am tired of hearing about the stuff that doesn't matter. It's like shiny thing swinging in front of babies. WHY ISN'T AMERICA GETTING PISSED OFF?!
Who really cares about lipstick choices, hairstyles, salad green preference, hair plugs, personal injuries or injustices.
I am even sick of hearing about pregnant daughters, shooting moose, emails with stars, the tails of airplanes and the costs of a wife's dress.
Aren't we all tired of the lies and comments about religious beliefs, flag pins, "crazy" pastors and age?
As Americans, true patriotic, red-blooded stewards of the greatest political experiment (gone right) in history we need to be talking about three things.
SURVIVAL. SUCCESS. DOMINANCE
Survival -
Of course we need to protect our people from terrorists and eminent threat. Let's force politicians to provide a better definition of these terms. Let's also force them to provide a better explanation of what they will do in the future to protect us from them.
Success -
Are we all going to just wait around to lose our jobs and start drifting around the country like poor American's in the 1920's and 1930's? The excess of the first couple of decades in the 1900s provided both good and bad. There were great philanthropists, but greedy people were the majority of the rich. The results was a crash of the markets, followed by something we call The Great Depression (with all of those important capital letters). The result of this was the rise of the Democrats, Social Security, industry regulation and many of the other protections that have eroded, under both parties, for the past 30 years. Yes these things slowed our growth and created a burden for the government (especially Social Security). But, they also ensured that we had protection against those within, or outside, who care about their own success at the expense of everyone else. Let's force our politicians to provide real answers to our economic situation. Let's be prepared not to like all of them (recovery may not come easy). Let's insist that they prove they have the support from Congressmen (and women) and Senators to force these idea to become laws. NO MORE EMPTY PROMISES FROM EITHER SIDE. NO MORE CANDY-COATED STORIES ABOUT HOW OUR "FUNDAMENTALLY-STRONG" ECONOMY WILL RECOVER WITHOUT EACH AND EVERY AMERICANS HELP!
Dominance -
The single most impressive thing about America has always been US, the American people. We dominated thought around the world not because we had the biggest army, or we had the most money. We dominated not because we spoke the loudest, were the most pugnacious or won the most medals in games. WE DOMINATED BECAUSE OUR STRUCTURE ALLOWED FOR PERSONAL FREEDOMS THAT WERE UNHEARD OF IN MOST PLACES OF THE WORLD. We were willing to accept a bit less from the government in return for allowing a little more for ourselves. Now we have candidates who actively (with support) announce the freedoms that they want to withhold or rescind. I TELL YOU WHAT, GIVE ME A STRONG ECONOMY FIRST. ENSURE MY SURVIVAL FIRST. Let us once again dominate by the simple fact of being AMERICANS rather than because we have more money or more guns.
If you have made it this far I am impressed. Many of our fellow citizens stopped reading long ago. They deserve whatever failed policies we have and what ever empty promises they get. SADLY 300 Million cannot steer a ship. It takes a small command unit to accomplish that. If you want to be part of the command unit, but like me, are not a big corporation or industry with an endless supply of cash and lobbyists, then please do two things:
1. Make a list of the fundamental or core issues you truly feel it will take to fix this country. *(this list should not contain anything issue that is specific to "you". It should be something that is applicable to ALL AMERICANS)
2. Contact Barack Obama's campaign and tell them that you will vote for him, but only if Mr. Obama can prove, not just talk about, the facts of how he will enact solutions. He must be able to show support from those who have the power to stalemate him (Congress and Senate).
The reason I have not put this same challenge to John McCain is because he has already made it clear, through words and action, that he believes the current process is at east 90% correct. I think it is much too far of a leap to expect him to change course (some might say again) at this late date.
Thank you from a frustrated fellow AMERICAN.
AmericanComment,
A well written impassioned plea for voters to approach the ballot box as the founding fathers intended, based on the issues facing our nation and our people which individuals cannot resolve themselves, and which can only be resolved through a collective consensual effort.
Implied by your article is the wisdom of voting for the candidate best for the job, not the Party to which they are sponsored by. Perhaps you didn't mean to imply that, but, as I see it, the political parties have but one overarching priority and goal to which all others take a back seat, and that is acquiring and retaining power. Thus the political parties are unprincipled at their core.
That does not mean the candidates sponsored by those Parties are necessarily going to be equally unprincipled. If John McCain were to commit to a one term presidency, it would free him from Party control and the pressures aimed at him as president to force his hand in lieu of his reelection bid in 2012. He appears not to be willing to take that stand.
Obama also is not willing to take such a stand. I think Obama won't close the 2012 reelection door because he is confident that his policies will warrant reelection. Both candidates appear to believe that their leadership will warrant their reelection.
But, looking at each candidate on the issues confronting our nation, is the only rational and intelligent way for voters to decide. And you make this point very clearly. I couldn't agree more.
I would disagree about knowing McCain's agenda. His positions have flipped and flopped like a fish out of water, and I don't see how it is possible anymore to know where McCain stands on the issues, because they change according to polls. I have watched so many of McCain's Bush positions morph into Obama's positions these last 5 months, that it appears to me the only agenda McCain stands for is adding President to his legacy in his final years of life.
Obama will have a long life after being president and decades to live with his record as president. There is great incentive in that to move him to make that Presidential record one he can be proud of for decades after, and in the eyes of his daughters.
McCain at the end of his life, has few options to improve upon his legacy, which he apologized for many times in an interview with CNN about his life and history.
Thank you, AmericanComment for offering more wisdom than is typically heard, even on the Sunday network political shows. While I know I'll be voting for Obama regardless, I respect your demands of him, as it's important that our leaders be expected to be honest agents of the policies that they propose. Knowing as we all do that one of these two men (barring some extraordinary event) WILL become our next President, and having come to the same conclusion as you about McCain, Obama safely has my vote. (He also actually does offer more detail than most folks are aware on his website and in his policy papers.)
But following the election, I plan to push hard the message that Obama needs to govern without regard to how any decisions might impact a 2012 election. Obama is very politically savvy, and I worry a little about his inclination to govern politically getting in the way of making the best decisions. Nonetheless, he speaks to truths that resonate for me, and I must hope he will put good governance above other considerations, if he makes it to the Presidency.
I'm sick of it too.
But, perhaps enough voters will be less apathetic, complacent, and blindly partisan when enough of the voters are deep in debt , jobless , homeless , and hungry ?
At any rate, the voters have the government that the voters elect (and re-elect, and re-elect, and re-elect , . . . , at least until that finally becomes too painful).
We need a president who will hold Congress accountable to the American people and our nation's future. Sorry, gang, but, I just can't grasp that Obama is that person. McCain would not be my first choice for a Republican president. But, this Congress needs a president that will fight its greed, relations to lobbyists, and complete lack of discipline when it comes to spending American tax dollars. McCain on those fronts, will do a better job than Obama who will be of the same party as the majority in Congress.
Democrats could have done worse than Obama. But, they could also have found someone with a history less prone to liberal spending.
I agree with your article with a couple of variations. Regarding survival...we need a
strong defense...with great intelligence ...not Homeland security...as Franklin said "those who
opt for security over Liberty deserve neither".
Regarding dominance...our country needs to
reinvest and reestablish our industrial base. To
many countries have stolen our intellectual property and our industry...we should have FAIR
trade not FREE trade. If you stop and think about it...the technology that the world operates
on is American, from the airplane, telephone, tv & the computer...the list goes on forever. What we need to do is get our kids interested in science and engineering, invest in reasearch and development. Our engineers should be compensated as well as doctors and lawyers. We need
small business incubators to re-industrialize create a new manufacturing. There is an a whole new world of products that can be developed in conjunction with energy independence. Defense investment should be towards space based
defense and missle defense. we need new century defense technology. Other countries are moving forward while we spin around "projecting power". I am in total agreement that it is the People of our country that make this country what it is and it is time for the pendulum to
swing our way.