Recent events in our government have really disappointed me. And the response of the citizens isn't much better.
Americans are an arrogant group, we love to go on and on about what a great country we have....the greatest country. But what definition of great are we using? Great implies better than good. Are we good? Wouldn't a good country be able to feed all of it's poor? Wouldn't a good country provide affordable health care to ALL of it's people? Wouldn't a good country work together to try to find a solution to the number of mass shootings that have been taking place in recent years? Wouldn't a good country have a government that works together PERIOD? These are important issues that are just off the top of my head....Oh and wouldn't a good country educate it's youth better? We poll in the middle on most every subject...the middle....that's AVERAGE at best, not good, and certainly not great!
Is it Un American to write that? What about freedom of speech? Is it Un American to feel that way? Maybe you think it is... I think it's Un American to rest on our laurels, from a past that showed we had the potential to be the greatest nation. But somewhere along the way we stopped striving for greatness, because other than arrogance what are Americans known for? Laziness...
Let's stop being arrogant, stop being lazy and start rebuilding our country as something we can all be proud of. We can still have different opinions. You can still think the Affordable Care Act is wasteful spending, that it won't work BUT if the system we created to make laws is fair, with it's checks and balances, then you MUST accept the law and abide by it. You must agree that to shut down our government after fighting for years to repeal this law, taking it to the Supreme Court, spending God knows how much money, is not the way a great country handles things. Then to add insult to injury, these "representatives" claim the shut down isn't hurting anyone, it's not a big deal, it isn't affecting the economy...only to claim a couple days later that it is hurting people...people who went on vacation and now can't see the Statue of Liberty or Yosemite Park...that's what they have said...the Republicans who are trying to "protect" us from the big bad Affordable Care Act. They didn't mention the mothers and children who won't be receiving their aid for food, they didn't mention the military families whose commissaries have been shut down, they have forgotten the employees who have been furloughed...why? Because THEY (are wonderful, caring representatives) will still receive their checks!
As for our representatives... do they really represent us? They are wealthy, they are out of touch with how most of America lives, they do not care what we want, they abide by the wishes of those who line their pockets. They do a very good job of hiding behind talking points, never addressing facts. They appeal to one aspect of your loyalty...maybe you are Republican because you want your gun ownership to be unaffected, so you ignore that while protecting your gun rights, they protect their vaults of money, by paying lower effective tax rates. Maybe you consider yourself religious and they appeal to your morals, so you ignore the fact that they have no compassion for the poor, as Jesus would, because they fight to protect the sanctity of marriage or to toughen abortion laws.
We have a two party system, it is impossible to agree with everything your particular party believes in, we all are unique, we have different ideas of what is most important. We latch onto a party because of a few key beliefs that are similar. I have seen people switch parties when their eyes have been opened that you do NOT need to blindly agree with EVERYTHING they say, you can understand that their interests are self serving...or serving of those who are paying to keep them in office. It is foolhardy to think the actions of any of these "representatives" have the best interest of YOU in mind. It is okay to admit that your party is not perfect, just as it is okay to admit America is not perfect. The only way to fix what is broke, is to recognize that it is broke.
I think a good starting point would be to eliminate pensions for our representatives...ALL OF THEM!! There has been something circulating on facebook about this...let's do it! My idea is to make it like the current minimum wage system for people who work on tips or commissions. IF the representative doesn't earn X dollars through speaking events or book royalties or even just interest on the bags of money they already have...THEN they can collect their pension. I would venture to say that most everyone of our representatives makes more than what their pension would be through other means. How much money could this save in our budget? Enough to PAY for everyone to have healthcare...not assist in paying but actually PAY for it?? Maybe...I really don't want to know what the government pays out every year in pensions to former Congress people and Senators and Presidents...I truly do not want to know.
I want to end on one area where I believe America IS the greatest...our military. These people willingly sign up to serve our country, knowing ahead of time that our government does not show them the appreciation they deserve. Their pay sucks, their mental health needs are ignored when they return from tours of duty, they just, in general, are not shown the love they deserve....their pensions do not look anything like what we pay our Congressmen sitting in their cushy jobs and these men and women have put their lives in harms way and sacrificed time from family. These are GREAT Americans and a "great" country would treat them as such. We can be the greatest country again...but we need to get rid of the asshats (love that word) that are currently representing us, we need a better system to get money OUT of politics and start having OUR voices heard and OUR people taken care of...the American dream has become all but unattainable unless you were born with the right last name...the rich are getting richer and we are losing the middle class. Let's take back our country and make it great again!
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