Now that I’m officially a senior citizen by virtue of turning 70 in February, I’m begining to wonder how much more I can get away with when it comes to grumpy old Guy rants here on my blog. I’ve had a few posts that were close to going off the rails but for the most part I’ve held it together even when current events begged for me to let loose. This time feels a little more urgent because we’re about to have an election where two even grumpier old men are doddering down the campaign trail in hopes of being our next president. God help us, this isn’t going to end well.
I’m not a fan of politics, politicians or political parties. It seems to me that actually representing the people in the way we run the government should take precedence over party affiliation but that doesn’t happen anymore at all. The political parties get to decide who the candidates are, who gets the advertising money, who gets the delegates at the convention and then all of the media bias that comes with the nomination. It’s a rigged system that doesn’t lend itself to actual representation of the will of the majority of the people of this great country. And I still think it’s a great country, in spite of politics. Now I really sound old. I actually love my country and frankly the vast majority of people I encounter on a daily basis are pretty solid citizens who try to live better lives by sharing the burdens of life.
I wish I could say the same thing about any politician but I honestly can’t. Their allegiance isn’t to the flag or their constituents but to the big D or R after their name and title. That is not what the founders wanted. They expected people to serve out their terms and go back to where they came from, not to stay in the bubble that Washington DC has become. I don’t believe anybody who stays in DC has a clue about how the rest of this country works. And that is a deliberate choice on their part to ignore reality. It’s a lot easier to take your marching orders from the party than it is to listen to the concerns of your real constituents who believed in you enough to vote.
I wish someone would take the time to review all of the campaign promises that have ever been made and check that against the actual legislation that came to pass. I would be willing to bet it’s less than 10%. In any other job, being successful 10% of the time would get you fired immediately but we have a slew of politicians who have been in government for decades. Isn’t it odd that after years of making government wages, so many are now filthy rich? I don’t think that’s just a happy accident. I think it’s dealing in political favors and using their power to enrich themselves. And both parties do it all the time.
Ok, enough of railing against the system. It’s a pretty futile gesture at best. What can we do about this derailment of our great country? Well, the last time we had an election and I was contacted by my local representative about helping her campaign I took the time to write a detailed letter with several suggestions for legislation and even some suggestions for the way to pay for them so we wouldn’t have to just print more money. I got no response of any kind except another request for my time and/or money. I voted against the incumbent just to make my point that I wasn’t happy with the status quo in DC. The incumbent still won and nothing I suggested has ever crossed her mind since. I’m going to do the same thing again this year and this time I will include this line…
“What would it take for you to put the will of the people you represent before the demands of the party you serve?”
Feel free to copy and send this post along to your own representative. Just don’t expect an honest answer. Grumpy old Guy out.
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I share your frustration and sense of futility. I also feel this when observing workers in the market place getting slammed by corporate greed and losing out on pensions and collective bargaining. Two sides of the same coin? Maybe the whole thing was never intended to work on behalf of the citizens.
I just joined that group too. Gave my resignation this week. Corporate greed is out of control just like the government. Another blog for another day.
I must agree with your statements about our government. If we could find even ONE member of our government who isn’t “in it for themselves,” I would be both pleased and surprised! My great-grandfather wrote a pamphlet over a hundred years ago that argued against Christians voting. One of his first arguments was, “We all know that all politicians are thieves and liars.” I don’t agree about not voting, but I agree with this argument! It’s been going on a long time. The Apostle Paul wrote long ago in 2 Timothy 3:2-5, “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
I fear that the description above can be assigned to our leaders. At least to most of them. No wonder Paul said, “Have nothing to do with them.” I wish I could follow his advice.
Amen to that! Honestly serving their constituents never enters their minds. And…they make their own rules for employment. How many ignore calls for term limits. We both know what our businesses would have looked like with the employees running the show!
Guy,
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div>Another good one. You said it. We the peop
Thx., Brother. I needed that.