The one with all the politics

Fri, Sep 26 2008 by Vanessa.

Normally, I listen only half-heartedly to the latest happenings in the political world.  Election years remind me why that is.  Is there even a single politician out there who really truly knows what he/she believes in?  From my limited perspective the words that come out of most politician’s mouths change with the tides …. sometimes faster.  I understand that individual politicians rarely write their own speeches but I don’t understand why.  I feel that if you are going to lead people, you need to know what you stand for, where you plan to go, and how you will get there.  Basically, you need to know how you plan to lead!  From my “outsider” viewpoint it seems that I really vote for a team of people who dictate every move of the politician I think I elect.  That isn’t the deal.  If I vote for Bozo the Clown I expect Bozo to write his/her own speeches.  I expect Bozo to know what he/she stands for and then STAND BY THOSE IDEALS.  I expect Bozo to LEAD, not be pushed from here to there, instructed on what he/she should stand for and say today like Pinocchio.  Too bad their noses don’t grow when they lie!

I openly admit that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report present skewed information for the sake of a few laughs.  However, in the midst of their humor, these two shows actually present an image of today’s politician that possesses some merit.  How many times have we seen a single politician state that “A is absolutely true” today even though they professed with extreme gusto that “A will absolutely NEVER be true” just a week ago?  Do our politicians ever read their speeches?  Do they listen to the words that they utter in front of video cameras?  Do they understand that video cameras actually record their speeches for all posterity?  Do they understand that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will dig through all that video tape to find blatant contradictions?  Don’t they feel like idiots, always backtracking, contradicting themselves and basically acting like Bozo?  The word hypocrisy comes to mind, yet again.

I find even more frustrating our nation’s current financial situation.  Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Paulson amaze me.  Let’s say that I walk into my local financial institution during a period of great prosperity when money falls from the sky, everyone’s bank account reflects prosperity and security and life is good.  Chances of getting money would be pretty good, right?

“Excuse me Mr. Lender.  My name is Vanessa and I would like $70,000.  I won’t tell you why I need this money.  I won’t allow you to oversee how I use the money.  In fact, I’ll probably pad my own bank account because I’m so special I should never have to do without a really high income.  Oh yeah … one more thing … I won’t even guarantee that I’ll pay it all back.  You’ll probably get most of it though.  So let’s do it.  Let’s sign those papers NOW.  No time to waste.  Do it NOW.”

Visions of lead balloons, falling from the sky, fill my thoughts.   No way in Hades.  Yet, Mr. Bernenke and Mr. Paulson find this very argument quite sound in their time of need … no wait, I mean our country’s time of need because Mr. Bernenke and Mr. Paulson can’t be held responsible for this catastrophe.  It’s not like it’s their JOB to keep our country financially viable or anything.  Anyway, back to my point.  I’m sure all those fantastically smart, responsible and intuitive CEOs and other officials who have brought our country down to her knees surely don’t deserve to lose their own homes.  Forget the fact that so many of us “everyday citizens” are, in fact, losing our homes every single day.  Forget the fact that so many of us “everyday citizens” are, in fact, struggling to get through these “rough times” and must figure out how to survive, day to day, using only our own devices.  How about allocating $350 billion several months ago to help those people who truly are losing their houses?  I believe our nation’s leaders didn’t think that appropriate.  It really does seem that the politicians we elect to protect and lead us do nothing but take from and endanger us.  God Bless America.

I believe that every politician should live within the same constraints as the average member of their constituency.   For example, mayors would receive as their annual income, the average income of people in their town.  Senators should receive the average income of people in their state.  The President of the United States should receive the average income of all Americans.  The same concept should apply to health care.  Take the average health care plan of a given constituency and that should be the health care plan of their leader.  Something tells me the standard of living across the entire United States would change over night.  Instead of citizens paying for politicians to take chartered jets from here to there, we could instead pay for their gas at a rate of 58.5 cents per mile if they drive from here to there OR we could pay for a coach plane ticket.  Again, I believe increases in our standard of living would occur overnight.

Don’t get me wrong, I still feel incredibly grateful to possess citizenship in one of the greatest countries on this planet.   I just think it’s time for change.  It’s time for politicians to act like responsible adults, not 4th graders on the playground during lunchtime.  Is that really so hard?

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