“If there’s a candidate this year you feel really passionate about, consider professional help.” – Stephen Green
True enough. The above quote was flying around the Twitters last week, and I have to agree with it. There is no candidate worth my time, attention, or vote at this point. Republicans, Democrats, Green Party (because I’m sure Ralph Nader will announce his candidacy yet again); none of them impress me. In fact, here’s each candidate’s platform distilled to its bare essence (for me):
Mitt Romney: “At least I’m not Obama.”
Newt Gingrich: “Romney is John Kerry with an R next to his name. Also, at least I’m not Obama. Obama’s a wuss.”
Rick Santorum: “We need to get back to our values, and we will as soon as Doc Brown builds that time machine. In the meantime, I’m against abortion, women holding authoritative positions, and couples sharing the same bed. Hey Doc, can we go back to 1955 yet?”
Ron Paul: “Buy gold. Build a wall. Bring the troops home. I’ll do all of these by force of Executive power, even though I say we need less government in our lives.”
President Obama: “With competition like this, do I even have to campaign? Besides, I hate moving.”
Are any of you impressed by this? I know I’m sure as hell not. We’re up Shit Creek without a paddle here, folks. The economy is broken, we still face terrorist threats, our military is just plain worn out from repeated deployment cycles, national debt has spiraled out of control….you know what? Just turn on the news. It’s pretty scary out there.
WHICH IS WHY I’M ANNOUNCING MY INTENTION TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT!
Just kidding. I’m not that arrogant. I can recognize that we’re SOL and JWF here, but I’m not the guy to fix it. My point is, neither are the candidates or the current Congress. We, as a Nation, have been failed by our elected officials. Through guile, cunning, bullying, flat out lies, and just morally reprehensible actions, we have been bent over and loaded up like a shotgun by the very people we sent to Washington to work for us. Do you all get that? They work for us. Think about it. If you had any professional treating you like this, would you continue to do business with them? Hell no! Folks, we get pissed off and complain when some minimum-wage-earning teenager screws up our order at McDonald’s! You don’t take it from some snot-nosed, acne-covered, fry-slinging little punk. Why the hell would you take it from someone who is earning $174,658.76 (average of Congressional and Presidential salaries) a year?
So what’s a Nation to do?
Get pissed off, that’s what. Get educated. And most importantly, fight the bastards. Don’t believe a word they say and always realize that they are all spitting on you. Anyone who chooses politics as a career is using your vote to ensure they maintain their paycheck and power. A “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, spoken of by President Abraham Lincoln and dreamed of by our Founding Fathers, is NOT what we have today. Today we have a ruling class and everyone else. You enjoy that? I sure as hell don’t. So fight back. Take the time and effort to get educated on the candidates and their positions. Read the views from both the left and right. Recognize that the media is lying to you. Most importantly, learn to positively identify bullshit.
The Occupy movement claims that corporations are to blame for the mess we’re in. The Tea Party claims that we have too much government and that’s the reason we’re in this mess. The hell of it is, both movements have more common ground than the politicians and media would have you believe. Between the two, they’ve identified the problem. Will you ever see that reported on the news? Not a chance in hell. Why? Because “radical gun-nuts” and “lazy hippies with a sense of entitlement” make for better ratings. The loudest, most outrageous ones are great for sound bites, plain and simple. Remember folks, the media outlets are not interested in reporting the truth. They are interested in higher ratings and more money. Don’t believe me? Think this through: a corporation is interested in making money. The big three media outlets are owned by corporations. C’mon, make the mental jump here with me. “But, Steve, politicians aren’t owned by corporations.” Really? Do you honestly believe that the candidates are pulling in millions of dollars in campaign donations when folks are unemployed and doing what they can to make ends meet? If so, I have some MySpace stock to sell you.
Bottom line, we’re being fed a shit sandwich (MRE Meal #25) and have been for a long time. I know there are a lot of folks who have eaten said sandwich so long that they’ve started to enjoy the taste, but not me. I can’t believe I’m the only one either. People need to step up. To serve one’s Nation is a calling and an honor. The players in Washington have forgotten that. They’ve shown that they are there to serve themselves. We need honorable men and women to replace them. I’d do it, but let’s be honest, no one would vote for me. Admittedly, the debates would be quality entertainment, but do you really want to vote for the guy who tells his opponent that they are full of shit as his opening statement? I wouldn’t vote for me, if that tells you anything.
I demand more out of my elected officials and you should to. This time around, let’s direct our voices to Washington DC and say, “Enough is enough. I have had it with these motherf***ing snakes in this motherf***ing city!” Apathy is not an option. We have to demand better or we’re going the way of Mexico.
I’m off my soapbox, I encourage you all to get on yours. Hopefully I’ll see you at the ballot box.