thoughts on presidents day, a view from the ground .

Divide and conquer. How true that is.

America began as a place where ALL could go to be free. Free from religious persecution. Free from political manipulation. Free from dictatorship. Somehow along the way it all got lost.

One religion/party/race declares itself as the absolute and all others are to fall in behind it quietly and obediently. Never mind that we all came here to find our own freedoms. Never mind that we wanted a democratic society run by the PEOPLE. All that got lost as the power hungry gained a firmer hold. What happened to the “melting pot?”

I see many comments from people denouncing this religion or that – saying that THEIR religion is the “religion of America!” How DARE others practice theirs?? What happened to those freedoms??

You are right David in that the ones at the top are enjoying looking down at the masses tearing each other to shreads – all while they are getting a stronger and stronger hold on the country. It is sad and until people decide that they have to ‘live an let live’ and learn to get along with their differences – be it political, religious or other – the country will continue into its downward spiral.

I don’t speak of these things often in public, but I felt that I wanted to say that.

As a people (in any country) we need to be tolerant of others with different beliefs and join together to get the self-serving politicians out of power.

How do we do that?

One act of kindness/tolerance/support at a time is a good start.

Sheila

-- Contributing Editor, Creative Woodworks and Crafts, Sheila Landry Designs http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com "Knowledge is Power"

Amen!

-- spanky46 -- Never enough clamps...Never enough tools...Never enough time.

I hope people get out and vote this year. I will not vote for any incumbent, I don’t care if they are running for dogcatcher. I’m truly sick and tired of the politicians in this country.

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

As with most political upstarts, they all feel a sense of recognition, hey look at me, everybody loves me and they gave me the mandate to do whatever I want. Here in Canada it is no different, our political gurus have a powerful mandate allowing them, with their majority, to do crazy things that the general public think is downright wrong, but they do it anyway, lack of common sense. I have only ever heard one Canadian politician say that our demise lies with the gasoline prices, driving the price of life sustaining consumer goods over the moon. Also there should be a law put in place to limit the amount of goods that are outsourced to China and India, for no other reason than to keep our citizens employed. Free trade is becoming obsolete when you look at the trade deficits with 3rd world countries. We’re going down the drain, and only the people with fixed incomes can see it. Politicians should be made to live on a pensioners income for six months to see what hardship really is. David, you are right on the mark.
Jack

-- Jack Keefe Shediac NB Canada

A monday morning poem for you David.

Breathe in,
take a breath
two things for sure
politics and death

Just when you think
the world’s gone astray
The pendulum swings
and saves the day

So forget about the news
who cares what they say
If you want real truth
come back to LJ

I wish there were more people in the world like you. Keep the faith.

-- mark

Patron,
You’re spot on! The change we all seek is going to come from all of us who seek it! That sounds like an oxymoron but, it means that we all have to be active in this process. Your LJ note is the first step in the journey. Surround yourself with like minded patriots (LJ is good place for that) and lock elbows. We are many. They (the Marxist politicians) are few. We can move this ball down the field but, only if we stay ACTIVE in the game! Those that are shouting from the sidelines have no sense of the fight in the arena! Keep charging. You’re doing God’s work. God bless you.

-- Max the "night janitor" at www.hardwoodclocks.com

Being that I’m a writer.. I thought I’d chime in on this.. This song is at the studio as we speak..:)

©Lyrics – David William Bethune SOCAN/BMI

“El Toro POO”

We the people
Got a message for you
We’ve had our fill
Of your El Toro Poo
You’ve fallen from grace
We’ve lost our faith
In all you say or do

Brain dead politicians
With only one mission
We believe nothing you say
Your lobbyist puppets
Putting gold in your buckets
And it’s dam time you pay

Chorus:
All we needs a revolution or two
To fix the things that politicians do
They’re not thinkin bout me and you
They’re all full of El Toro Poo

We have the solution
For the poo that your shootin
Listen up we’re talkin to you
United WE Stand
All across the Land
No more we’re through

We’ve have the answer
For political cancer
We all know what we have to do
To put an end to our troubles
We’ll give you all shovels
To clean up all of your poo

Chorus:
All we needs a revolution or two
To fix the things that politicians do
They’re not thinkin bout me and you
They’re all full of El Toro Poo

All you crook politicians
We’ll teach you to listen
Depends are the cure for you
Ya it’s time for a change
Time to diaper your brains
They’re full of El Toro Poo

Chorus:
All we needs a revolution or two
To fix the things that politicians do
They’re not thinkin bout me and you
They’re all full of El Toro Poo

Chorus:
All we needs a revolution or two
To fix the things that politicians do
They’re not thinkin bout me and you
They’re all full of El Toro Poo
So Adios to you
And El Toro Poo

Patron, like you I have seen the change in our national government, but I don’t see it as a problem with the caliber of people we send to represent ourselves. I see the change more as a process issue. When we find a defect in a product, we can fire the person, but we will need to hire another person to take the place of the last employee. Or, we could look at the defect as an opportunity to fix the process.
In Washington DC the lobbyist far out number the elected representatives, and the money they bring to the table, along with the lawyers and salesmen, have far more influence than we the voters have. I beleive that the fathers of our system envisioned that the legislators would go to Washington to represent the constituents who elected them and return to us to answer for their vote. Now it seems that special interest groups, who collect money from a narrow group of people who can donate the cash, (read, not those on limited incomes who live month to month) take their dollars to DC to influence the congress to accept what ever issue is their issue. It doesn’t matter to the lobbyist if their issue is counter productive to the needs of the masses.
In conclusion, it’s not the people we send there that is broken, it’s the what happens to them when they get there that needs to be changed.

-- Mel

I hear ya bother!

-- Doug...

it’s not the people we send there that is broken, it’s the what happens to them when they get there that needs to be changed.

—Mel
You’re right Mel. Even if their intent is good, when they get there they get “the good old boy”talk about what they HAVE to do, to get anything done. If they buck the system they don’t last long.
I’m all for term limits myself. Of course Congress isn’t going to let that happen.

Good post Patron

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

Hi David. I can well understand your frustration and anger. Unfortunately, large portions of the electorate just don’t take the time and effort to become familiar with the issues and the candidates. These folks are easy to manipulate with falsehoods and pie in the sky promises, no matter how unrealistic. This results in sleazy candidates getting into office instead of competent people with good leadership abilities who really want to make a difference.

The world has always had it’s fair share of self serving individuals who are only after wealth and power. So I say that the electorate gets what it deserves when they do not do their part of the job, which is making sure good people are voted into office. The system is still good, but we need a much better informed voter. I see a lot of political interviews of folks on the street in the U.S.A. and I am appalled at how much ignorance and lack of interest there is out there.

I do agree wholeheartedly that a polarized government isn’t very helpful, but do remember who put those folks into office. There is really no excuse for not being up to speed on issues with the vast amount of info we have available to us these days. We are after all living in the information age!

This is not to say that there are not plenty of voters who are well informed, but there are just not enough of them, and that is where I believe America’s big problem lies. All the other negatives are just the result of that one major failing.

The above comments are my personal opinion, but I do respect other positions on this matter. I will not reveal where I stand politically on this site and it is not my intention here to point any fingers at any one party or group. My comments are about voters regardless of party affiliations. And yes, I do love America I have always considered it a beacon of light in the world, and living abroad has only strengthened that view.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Awesome David.
I’ll add my 2c a bit later

-- Roger-R, Republic of Texas. "Always look on the Bright Side of Life" - An eyeball to eyeball confrontation with a blind person is as complete waste of Time.

Great post David. stefang hit the proverbial nail on the head. Many voters are, in my opinion, are very ignorant . They care more about “Reality” shows on television than issues that will affect their lives and the lives of their children. They listen to 5 seconds sound bites and use that as their political philosophy. I am not affiliated with any political party. They are all complicit in the conditions that exist today.

I wish I had a brilliant mind so I could solve this problem, but I do not. So my current solution is to not vote for any incumbent as a protest and I will let each know with a personal message.

Someone please find a solution.

-- Bill - If I knew GRANDKIDS were so much fun I would have had them first.

ok just woke again after my morning ‘nap’

thank you all for these open and insightful comments
(nice to have a real conversation without bashing heads)

here is something going on now that concerns me too
with all the laws they want to pass about internet censorship
i found this at the end of an old episode of the ‘rockford files’
as a warning then (1977) when univac was just getting going
it was an episode about a ‘splinter’ group from the ‘secret’ government

i too have many friends that just quit voting altogether
this apathy allows this to happen

we must become involved if our voices are to be heard at all
one by one we don’t stand a chance
but together we can make a difference

i’d like to see term limits
and wages for them all set by the people not themselves
all politicians following the rules they impose on us
no superpac or corporate money allowed
(seems even the supreme court is bought now
giving corporations (for profit business) the rights of people)
there are 35,000 lobbyists in washington
many from countries and businesses from outside this country
that have more say than we do

just yesterday one of the cantidates stated that he was one of the working class
so the working class there ‘liked’ him now
after trashing him for months along with the other politicians
as the field gets smaller and smaller
they will switch their votes to someone they never wanted
since he will be the only one left

but in the end the ‘electoral college’ chooses
regardless of the ‘chads’ or faulty voting machines

they have it rigged in their favor every step of the way

i get e-mails from many different people (even LJ’ers)
ranting about some injustice or political view

being a kind person i don’t rant back
but now i send them the other views
they may have overlooked or don’t want to know about

fair is fair

-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle

I don’t like the political slop, the nanny state and people who want
to dictate our every move and regulate the hell out of every move we make.

Wouildn’t it be nice if we had a 100 year prison sentance for politcians
that lied. No probation no parole!!!!!

-- Bob Kenosha Wi.