Who's Playing and Who's Paying?

There are many times in the last couple of years that I have become extremely disheartened with the direction our country is headed towards. The funny thing is that lots of other people who don't normally follow the news much, are starting to notice. Listen I don't blame anybody who tries not to watch things that depress them any more than everyday life and its myriad problems we encounter every day! It is a testimony to the escalation of drug and alcohol problems that life in these United States has seen better days. I am talking pharmaceuticals here too. We are not only the Prozac nation, but I think we are the Xanax nation too! Most everyone I know admits to having anxiety. It's hard to make a living. Many of us have our adult kids at home; either back after a lost job or relationship, or one never having left home at all. Some of these kids you can't get rid of with WD-40 and a crowbar!! But, that being said, my Facebook tells me, people are talking!

Violence is up; Crime is up; Unemployment is up, the political divide is getting wider. Why can't we all just get along? Most of us keep our heads down and don't look up very often. One of my nephews told my brother that he "wasn't concerned about anything except his job and family"when his Dad tried to talk to him about political issues. My brother got very upset. He was telling me this on a recent visit, and we discussed at length the fact that people with that attitude don't seem to understand that job and family with its attendant freedom, rights and responsibilies, is the entire reason the people that do care, show it by doing whatever lay within their power to affect positive outcomes in politics. We elect leaders that then have the power to manipulate the policies that give us those rights and privileges. It is frustrating when no one seems to care.

I haven't done all with my life that I have wanted to do. It has been tough to find the time to be an activist when you are the custodian of a family. I mean that literally too. I failed to reach the intended audience when I taught "Pick-Up After Yourself 101" some years ago. But I digress. I did try to pass my values on to my kids. We found a church when they were small and kept them going until they were around 16 and 17 when most children turn heathen on their parents. We definitely talked about the issues. I have always been a pretty avid follower of the news and what is the point of hearing interesting news stories unless you talk to other people about them?
So I knew my kids were listening sometimes at least because I overheard them parroting my views when they were teens. It feels good, in a way, but I did always want them to really pay attention to the issues and look at both sides before they made their opinion. If they didn't end up agreeing with me, it was okay. They have their God-given right to be wrong.

My point is that if someone else was in charge of your bank account, you would be watching what they were doing with it. You would want to know what kind of a person it was that was making decisions about what to do with your weekly paycheck. If they took it and bought all kinds of things that left you too little to pay your mortgage or buy food, you would have something to say about it. That's what it's like because the people we put into power affect the policies that allow us to live our lives the way we need to do it. If they make mistakes because they aren't experienced enough, or are bad managers, or are character-disordered, it is our fault because we put them there. If we didn't raise Cain when we felt they were doing the wrong thing, or we failed to pay attention because we felt like we were powerless and alone in our efforts, then they used us to fix their own agendas without caring about ours! We have to get together with our friends, our families, our churches and civic organizations and do what we can do. If you can watch someone's kids while they do letter-writing campaigns or phone-calling, that is a great contribution. If you write one letter, make one call to your representative, donate a little time or money to a worthy cause that is representing your viewpoint, whatever that is, then I believe America can yet be changed for the better.

I know things are tough right now; tougher even than it has been for awhile in our country. Most of us struggle somehow, and I know how hard it is to make any effort than we don't absolutely have to in our lives and work. But I think the stakes are pretty high right now on a lot of issues. The Universal Health Care Initiative and the CAP and Trade legislation have not yet been passed. Everyone has an electric bill and everyone needs health care, so we will all be affected by these pieces of legislation. There seem to be a lot of people on Capital Hill that believe that they can do what they like without impunity. Both political parties try to divide and conquer by distracting the American people with all these emotional side issues while they go about their business feathering their own nests with commissions, bonuses, and pork. It's time to let them know WHO their employers happen to be.

If Nero fiddled while Rome burned, I think we have a symphony orchestra playing in Washington DC.