Is that a Twisted Sister pin (next to the flag pin) on your uniform?
So there are a few things that I hear people say frequently when it comes to elections. I've translated what these phrases actually sound like to me when my brain interprets the words:
Statement: "I like what s/he is proposing but it will never happen"
Translation: "There is a better way, but I've given up hope."
Statement: "Only the candidates who raise the most money can possibly win."
Translation: "Corporations and special interests run our country and there's nothing I can do about it."
Statement: "A candidate who isn't near the center cannot be elected."
Translation: "As a country we've decided to elect those without principles; those who will say whatever it takes, usually vague, false, and meaningless rhetoric."
Statement: "I'd vote for her/him, but I don't think they can win."
Translation: "Our system does not work in a way that represents me as a citizen."
Statement: "I never vote because it doesn't really matter what I think or how I vote."
Translation: "I never vote because it doesn't really matter what I think or how I vote."
(Ok, so this last one didn't really need translation...)
These statements are not just frequent, they are so common that I'd be willing to bet that almost every person reading this has said or thought one or more of them, and probably recently. The recurring themes are no hope for change, no hope for better government, no hope for the future in this country.
So what are we going to do about it?
Are we going to keep voting for the same homogenized caricatures over and over again? Keep allowing ourselves to *not* be represented? Keep feeling powerless? Keep bickering partisan politics which only serves to divide us and maintain the status quo?
Screw that noise.
Listen to the candidates who are actually saying something; don't just swallow the rhetoric of your chosen party or a particular candidate; think it through and see if what they are saying truly makes sense or if they are simply full of balloon juice. Show up to events to support them. Talk to others respectfully about the candidates and the issues. (Also try be sure to listen as much or more than you talk! It's impossible to learn anything when your mouth is running. ;)
Then vote your conscience.
Vote for the candidate that best represents not just your immediate interests, but for the best interests of the country and the world as a whole. We are all in this together and more interdependent than ever before. What most benefits us globally will best benefit us as individuals.
Ok. Enough of this soapbox. I need more coffee. This video is a little on the nose, but I just couldn't help myself. I hope it's prophetic...
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