Don't bitch if you don't participate!

Once again I have seen a letter to the editor in the local newspaper crying about how the person and her husband refused to vote in the recent election because there was no candidate that they felt they could vote FOR. Why, oh why, do these piss poor citizens continue to express their poor logic? Simply abstaining from voting is not going to do ANYTHING except allow your opinion to go unheard at the local polls. And then you have the gall to write a proud letter to the paper and say that you didn't vote! The very reasons that you have chosen not to vote are the same reasons why you SHOULD vote!! You didn't like the candidates.... Then WRITE IN the candidate that you think should be on the ballot. If you can't think of anyone, do what I do, write in " None Of The Above" signaling that you are not happy with any of the choices or possibilities.

One of the things that REALLY annoys me about the election process is when a candidate is shown on more than one line of the ballot. Why is the same person listed as a Republican, a Conservative and an Independent? If you're a Republican you SURE aren't an Independent. This is one of those things where you just can't be both. So people cast their ballot on the Independent line... so what? The Republican still wins, and nothing changes! Half the time these candidates are the incumbents to boot! WTF!!! I have participated and by the sacred Internet I'm gonna bitch.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that the None Of The Above line is becoming a necessity in the American Electoral process. The system has become so stacked and slanted that a true grass roots change is nearly impossible, and it seems that there has to be some new method of change instituted . The founding fathers gave us the mechanism within the constitution to adjust our process and to adapt to the climates of the unforeseen future. They knew what history had proven, that change was inevitable and there needed to be a way for the laws of the land to adapt with the times or the law would not last and hold. 200 years ago our constitution was quite unique in it's formulation, and today it stands as a model for fledgling democracies around the world. But we need to once again prove that we are a leader for a reason and we need to show the world once again that we can change and find a way to make the system work again as it was meant to work.

The system was meant to be, of the people, By the people and FOR the people, and today it seems that it no longer is of, by or for the people. We need to bring the system back to it's roots, when the politician wasn't a lifetime career, but a part of a man's life. The farmer or shopkeeper did his turn in the government, and then went back to his real job. A lifetime politician was a king or a queen. Royalty and aristocracy were the only lifetime politicos. They served at the will of the people, because a good revolution could always change the balance of power. There was a time when the governing were rightfully fearful of the governed, but today it is quite the opposite. The money is the power in America today. The rich businesses, the banks and insurance companies hold the true sway in government, and the average person , the voter, has only the power to pick one of the money's choices and one is as bad as the other.

None Of The Above could truly bring about the needed changes, but what Politician has the courage to do what is right, instead of what is politically expedient?

None of the above...

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me. None of the above.... What the heck am I talking about, you may be thinking. Well, let me elaborate.

I am talking about the ballot, to be specific the American election ballots. If you vote, ( and you really should!!) you know that in far too many cases there is no opposition to the incumbent candidate, and so they win by default. But what if you don't want the incumbent to continue in this position? What if they have managed to rig the system ( this is not a conspiracy theory, look up "gerrymandering" in the dictionary) so that they can pretty much keep their office until such time as they decide to give it up? Well, then we have no recourse except to continue to fight a losing battle to try and get these slackers and losers out of office with candidates that have no chance of winning against the stacked deck.

So why not a "None Of The above" slot on every ballot in every election? For every office up for vote, there should be the possibility that none of the candidates truly meet the community standard, and therefore we should not let them win simply by default. Give the American people back the power of the voting booth. Rather than a race when there is no actual race, it is up to the politico to be responsible and do a good job, because we can actually vote them OUT of office without the need to vote someone else in. Of course this would mean that there must be occasional times when there is nobody to do a particular job. Depending on the job, this could result in either a new election, with completely new candidates (anyone voted out by the" None of the above" vote would be automatically barred from running again for at least 2 election cycles.) Or perhaps the job is eliminated, thereby saving the local coffers the expense of the salary. Another possibility is that the duties of the eliminated position be spread around the local government offices. Not all government jobs are essential after all! ( Especially elected ones!!)

The important thing here is the chance to make REAL change in a government that has become far too bloated and ineffectual for the people whom it is supposed to be serving. By adding the "None Of the Above" Slot to the ballot, we would no longer have to make the choice of the lesser of 2 evils, and therein lies the true possibilities of change.

Until we have the choice to actually say, " no", we will not settle, we want better choices, we will continue to get screwed over by the system that we want, and expect to help us.

Spending our Inheritace

America is a very screwed up country. Most people already know this, but we still have pride and thump our chests when people put us down. We are aloud to criticize ourselves, but gods help anyone else who does so! What makes me bitch today? News items from all over the country, that because of budget problems in various states, education takes a hit while politicians continue to initiate new spending! Meanwhile governments from counties up to the feds are adding to the list of required subject matter and testing standards. Just exactly how are these schools supposed to do more with less? Not only less money, but less hours, and in some cases even less days! Is it any wonder that American education has become such a joke around the world? I have always believed that teachers are generally underpaid. Not withstanding certain locations where there are exorbitant union contracts. They deal daily with who knows what, from homicidal teens to abused pre-schoolers. They have to make due with decades old text books and resources that are stretched so thin that they have probably snapped in many cases. Even in fairly upper crust suburbs the public schools are strapped for cash, to such a point that they send home lists of supplies that the parents are responsible for buying for their children. Not only general supplies but the supplies that they need for art class, and various projects throughout the school year. Schools can barely provide heat in the class rooms half of the time and now the tax money that public schools depend on is being rerouted to some other idiot project. Why is it that cities and sports teams are getting tax money to build stadiums for professional teams?

Professional sports teams charge exorbitant ticket prices for million dollar players who feel so entitled that they act barely human. They have nearly no manners or morals and treat the people who actually make them stars like idiots. They lie, cheat and kill then expect special treatment because they get outrageous salaries to play a stupid game for a few hours each week. Whether they win or lose the game that they play has no bearing on the course of history, or the develolpment of the human race. But they get tax money that could actually go towards education. Education that might uncover and encourage the next great mind of our age, the one who might develope the first viable human colony on Mar, or the one who will discover the secret of hyper space. Not every sportsman is an undereducated oaf, but there are far more of them than there are of the thoughtful, educated type. You get my point though. I know that in many cases increasing funds to schools seems like simply throwing good money after bad, but even in those cases do you simply give up on them?

I have to believe that there is a reason to try. When there is a resource to educate, somebody will use it. Maybe not every kid will use everything offered to them. We don't know why, some will feel lost no matter what is done to help them, and some will think they know it all and that the teachers are out to get them. There will never be a perfect system for educating the masses, the individality of the human race is both a blessing and a curse. But there will always be those who not only benefit, but stand out and excell. They will find what they need if it is there for them to find, and they will run with it and become great. They will become doctors and lawyers, teachers and business people, they will becomes astronomers and physisists, and any other field of endevour that you can name. They are out there now, struggling to learn in a hostile environment, where they are searched as they enter their schools and passed through metal detectors. If they are lucky enough to get to school they then have to try and survive each day, but they do it, and a small number of them learn that they can escape the cycle and maybe get a better life for not only themselves but for their children too. Granted when the time comes and their children get old enough they will be resented and rebelled against and they children will try to go back to the life that their parents tried so hard to escape, but at least they start out with the chance to go on. Right now that chance is being written off.

Our future lies in educating the youth, and not is paying the politicians who waste money year after year. They pay lip service to education, with slogans like "No child left behind." and "It takes a village." but when it comes down to it, they will take money from schools before they will take money from a sports team or take a paycut themselves. I know what the solution is, but sadly I will never be able to convince enough people to care to make the difference. But If I can convince a few people maybe they can convince a few more, and there is hope that eventually enough will care that the difference can be made. The solution is for the people themselve to call, write and visit their politicians, and not just the ones you know, but all of them from the President of the United States all the way down to your local councilman. Remind them that education should trump all else. Before they get raises, before they build stadiums, before they build monuments and parks, they need to educate the youth who will carry on the country and make it worth living in. Perhaps it is their plan, because when you think about it, an uneducated populace is much easier to convince of lies, because they simply don't know any better. You can take their rights away because they are unaware of what they are.

To save democracy and freedom, we need to be educated. It's as simple as that.

YOU MUST VOTE!!!

The Master, Robert A. Heinlein once said, through his character Lazarus Long, " If you live in a society that votes, do so! If you don't have some one to vote for, you should have someone to vote against. If this doesn't work, find some well meaning fool (there is always one around) and ask who he supports, then vote the opposite. It satisfies your civic duty and you get to oppose someone you dislike. " Now I truly don't believe that this is the best philosophy, but I do believe that if you don't vote you have no legs to stand on when you don't like who wins. Since my 18th birthday I have only missed 2 election days. One because I was traveling and one because I completely forgot what day it was, ( and I was thinking about it all day while I worked!)

Now this leads me to a very important point that I would like to see addressed by our elected officials. I believe that election day should be moved to a weekend, be it Saturday or Sunday is no matter, but the other important point is this, It should also be a Mandatory Federal Holiday, meaning that NO business may be conducted while the polls are open. A system that works very well in most other democracies in the world. This means that no registered voter has an excuse other than being hospitalized or kidnapped. As the oldest democracy in the world we are faced with some of the lowest voter turnouts. Why? Because too many people think that either it doesn't affect them, or that their vote doesn't matter. This is often attributable to the television news. Exit polls are truly the most hurtful thing to a democracy, because people hear that so and so is in the lead or so far behind, and they guess that their vote won't make a difference. I say this from experience, because I have worked with people who have used this exact argument.

I believe in the Constitution and all of the rights and freedoms afforded us by this document, but I am a very firm believer that with these freedoms and rights comes a certain level of responsibility, that frankly hasn't been exercised in a few decades. The press has become worse than religious crusaders in dumping scandal and excess on the front page to be consumed with our morning cereal. The more seedy the story the bigger the typeface. Along with the rudeness of the pundits, and the ignorance of the populace in general, these things add up to cake and circuses. Some wise person many years ago said that," a democracy will stand until such time as the people realize that they have the power to vote themselves cake and circuses." For some reason I think it may have been Mark Twain, but I'm not sure. But the point that he was making is that people tend to vote in their own interest, rather than in the interest of the country as a whole. How human of us! The sad part is that Politicians have grabbed unto this fact with a vengance, and the pork barrel rolls happily along. This is the biggest problem with career politicians. This is why I truly believe that politicians should be picked just like jurors.

Now my second suggestion is to get rid of every type of voting machine, Touch screen, and punch card and go back to a simple #2 Pencil, and a sheet of paper. There are few democracies in the world that vote any other way. In the United States, every state has a different system, and there is no standard, except that they are all insecure. And since they are insecure they can't be fully trusted. A glass box with a slot in the top, and a voter with a paper ballot is the most trustable thing in the world. A simple column with a square box beside each name. A box for the party you wish to have your vote counted from, and an X in each appropriate box. It has worked for centuries, and as the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Our world is gonna change one way or the other. The best thing anyone can do is to educate themselves abot what and who they are voting for. ( or against!) but don't go simply by the rhetoric of the campaign, visit websites of the candidates, and the referendums, and read up on the issues. Don't fall for the Karl Rove Doctrine, which is that any lie repeated often enough will be taken as the truth. The best website to visit is factcheck.org they sift through all the crude and corruption and give you the truth from both sides of the fence. They are truly non-partisan and that is the best thing that one can hope for in a research organization.