Political Spiel.

So, today was voting day across the entire United States.  That's good for two reasons: (1) the people get to once again pick representatives, and (2) THOSE GAWDAWFUL ADS WILL FINALLY STOP RUNNING!!

I personally despise the pre-voting season, as ordinarily rational adults scream at each other about how the representative they have chosen is either the right guy or the wrong guy, when it really doesn't matter in the long run because they're missing the big picture.  I noticed this during the last presidential election: Republicans were pitted against Democrats (I still think the bigger issue was that there was a choice between Geezer/Dingbat and Tan guy/Bigmouth) and people were sooooo angry.  In that race, I was a supporter of the guy who won because what I saw in any debate was this: one man had answers and ideas for some of our country's ills, two other guys had horrible accusations for the guy with ideas (and one woman could see Russia from her house, but that's another story in and of itself).  While the ideas weren't perfect, and they would be further fouled up by the body of representatives who would later be tossed those ideas to vote upon, they were still ideas, and I am a woman who likes at least an idea to fix problems.  That's why you'll rarely find me whining about a problem, instead I think of ways to solve it, then I grouch about how ineffective said solution was, and set about finding something better should problem arise again.

At one point during the presidential season I got into a discussion with a friend about how if she had a problem with the ideas in play, perhaps she should come up with better ideas.  Ideas are a good start and who knows, someday it could grow beyond an idea to maybe a movement because people like ideas and gravitate toward folks with good ones.  She scoffed at me and said it wasn't her job, that's what 'That Idiot' was hired to do.  It was too much responsibility to expect her, a mere citizen (who had never served her country or sacrificed much of anything save sales tax) to be thinking for the herd.  I was speechless.  My brain nearly imploded at this concept.  (we later parted ways never to speak again because of something related to telling me how to parent... again another story for another time.)

I'm getting off target again.  There is a point to all of this...

Today we set about choosing people to represent us as we are for all intents and purposes a government for the people, by the people.  Those representatives are human beings charged with the task of bearing forth our wishes for how we are to be governed in all aspects of our lives.  They often get a bad rep for making decisions we don't agree with, but we as a collective people are lazy.  We send these fine men and women up to the Big House with our well wishes (and some grumbling if he or she is not the one we picked), but we then expect them to be able to read our minds and think for us.

They are people, yes.  That's one of the requirements for the job of assembling the government for us and by us.  They are not all of us though.  They're not even a small fraction of us.  They're a small group of individuals who are not a representative sample of our population.  They haven't a freaking CLUE about what's in our hearts and minds.  For all they know, we all resemble Wal-Creatures, live for NASCAR, and sit on a beanbag eating cheetos and watching re-runs of Roseanne.  Or maybe they think we all drive SUVs and live in fancy quarter million dollar vinyl mansions in little additions out in the Hell known as 'Suburbia'.  Or they think we're all farmers and blue collar workers.  Who knows?  The only thing that is absolutely certain is that our representatives can only represent so well on their own.  They are not in place to think for us.

Here is my challenge to all of you- regardless of who is picked or what party label they come in wearing, get off your lazy duff and think for yourself.  If you don't agree with a policy, challenge it.  Learn to write to your congressperson or visit their local office.  Learn where the   Learn to write to your city councilmen.  Go to the city council meetings if you are available.  Learn to lobby if you're passionate about something.  Start an organization or join one if one already exists.  Do not settle for grumbling about that man or woman we all helped send to sit at the table for us unless you've done your part to help them make that decision with full consideration of their constituents.

Our rights will only be upheld through our diligence and personal effort.  Expecting some random stranger you've just picked, likely at random or because you hated their commercials less than the other guy's stuff, is not the same thing.