Democrats and Republicans - We Are The Problem, Not "Them"

Have we have lost?

We have given our enemies around the world reason to believe that the United States of America is no longer that shining light for all to see and admire.  No longer the symbol of strength and pride.  There is surely nothing United about these States and the world knows it and they benefit from it.

We have changed the course of discussion in this country from dealing with issues to talking about people.  Liberals, Conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, Left Wing, Right Wing, Moderates, Extremists.  Obama, McCain, Biden, Palin, Clinton, Pelosi, McConnell…Enough already.  Watch the Sunday morning “news” shows.  All the political pundits are rubbing their chins, pontificating about this and that while sitting in their cushy offices making more money than you and I.  It’s enough to make you puke.

How did we allow this to happen?  We can disagree and have very strong opposing views but we can still stay united as a country.   I have always enjoyed a good back and forth with those of an opposing political persuasion.  What I have seen recently on this and other sites is writers attacking each other in a very vicious way.  We are expending so much energy arguing with each other that we are letting our elected officials off the hook.  I am sure this sits very well with them.

Today I saw three posts regarding the now infamous Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Obama.  The question is asked, “What did he do to deserve it?”

Nothing.  Nada. Zip.

We agree.  What next?  Have you seen some of the nasty, mean and hateful posts and comments?  I don't care if you are a Young Republican or a New Democrat, we will never be able to expect more from our elected officials if we don't demand more from ourselves.

Personally, I don't care about Nobel Peace Prize.  Give someone a Nobel Prize for curing Cancer or Aids.  Give a Nobel Prize for growing vegetables in mud.  It doesn't change the fact that all we do as a people is piss and moan about everything.   Why are we still talking about this?  Why do we care?

We will have the same health care debates long after Obama is out of office just like the debates of all previous administrations.  Heck, we’ve been talking about health care reform for more than 50 years.   Everyone has their strong views but to get anything passed you will wind up with watered down beer.  Flat and bad tasting, but it’s still beer I suppose.

How long does the war in Viet Nam, I mean Iraq and Afghanistan have to go on before we have an idea of what to do there?  Bush had no exit plan and Obama has no entrance plan.  Get in and do the job or get out.  To me it’s that simple.  Please explain to me why it can’t be that simple.

Why does this happen?  Our level of expectation is so low that our elected officials, Republicans and Democrats can do anything they want or nothing at all.  We throw stones at each other because our elected officials throw stones at each other.   We have come to expect that nothing will change.  It has become a self fulfilling prophecy.

The American people have been numbed by the media and politicians.  With technology you can get thousands of view points from thousands of sources.  And you can get it in seconds.  With luck maybe a handful are legitimate sources of news and information.  We now spend our time reading those articles, posts and blogs that we tend to agree with.  We never expose ourselves to anything we think is different.  In the “old days” you pretty much had to sit through both sides of a story before you can form an opinion.  Today, you form your opinion then find the thousands of sources to support it.

Why can't we just demand that our elected officials do the jobs they were elected to do?  The answer to that is simple.  Because we won't.  It's a lot easier to argue amongst ourselves in relative anonymity here on Gather and other sites and blogs.  It is easier to post to a social networking site or blog than to talk to someone face to face.   If you posted something today, did you also call or write your elected officials?  Did you vote?  I did both.

We can contact our elected officials and voice our concerns.  We can tell them where we agree and where we disagree. We can demand they not only hear us but listen to us too.  Imagine Democrats and Republicans working together, for real and not for show.  It won’t be the politicians that start that process, it will have to be us.

God Bless You and God Bless The United States of America.   Now do something.