Hissy Fit
I'm going to do it. I'm going to broach the subject of po.pol.politics.
Our primary is on June 10 and I have to admit, I am disenchanted with the whole process. Politics have become such a nasty, costly, and disrespectful game that I have to wonder when we, the people, are going to stand up and say enough. There was a time when holding an office in this country was about honor and pride. Elected officials were held in the highest regards, but things have changed, and it is becoming a very sad state of affairs.
I guess what really brought this hissy fit to a head for me is what I saw driving to Bluffton and back the other day. I saw signs for one candidate on the side of the road and then I noticed on several occasions that the opponent had placed signs right in front; so close that you could hardly see the other. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seemed quite obvious that it was intentional since it didn't occur at only one sign. It just hit home the same old dirty politics that's been running rampant over the past couple of decades.
I'm so sick of the nasty tactics put out there by supposed classy people. What's scary is these are the same people we are expected to vote for to represent us and think like us in making daily decisions for our quality of life and our children's quality of education.
No wonder more people vote for the American Idol than for their legislators.
People don't turn out to vote because they don't believe it will make a difference. That's right; the consensus is that whoever we put in office will just serve up more of the same self-serving politics we've become numb to anyway. This is where that old theory of one bad apple spoils the bunch comes into play. There are probably an equal amount of good-to-bad politicians in office, but the bad seems to be the ones driving the reputation train.
Here's the thing though (I can't believe I'm going to reference Dr. Phil, but here it is), as we have all learned from Dr. Phil (back before he became Springer-esque), we teach people how to treat us. All of this dirty politicking and power-hungry, money-based decisions continue because we the people allow it. I definitely understand it though, because where do you even start to begin to change things. You have to vote, and a write-in will get you no where.
These days you have to be very, very brave to run for office. Your entire life's history is put on the line for your opponent to have a field day with. Lies are told. Things are twisted and taken out of context. It's sad. I think everyone has forgotten that these people have children and mothers and fathers that get hurt in the process of someone merely wanting to get elected to help this country. That is probably the reason we Americans have been left with voting for the best of the worst in our last few presidential campaigns. People can hardly stomach going through the huge "fight" to win. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of money it takes to get there. Am I the only one wondering why one would spend 50+ million dollars for a $400,000 a year job. Put that in the business world and guess what, you're out of business! I would love to see someone with the heart like Kevin Kline's character in the movie Dave, take $50,000, run for president and WIN!
With that said, I have to commend the good ones that are out there running and/or representing us that still have the courage to stick it out. You know who you are and I thank you. As for the sign ambush in Bluffton, I saw both signs so the ploy didn't work. Well actually it did, just not in the way they probably wanted it to. Here's an idea. Maybe next time try getting out and talking to the people, you know us constituents, and let us know what makes you different. Just a thought, that's all.