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Being
informed about issues that impact our daily lives requires a commitment to
staying up with thousands of events that are interconnected. Who has time or
the stomach to hear so much bad news and such a poor assessment of how we
behave? Try this out. Make a random list
of recent headlines and try stringing them together like musical notes to form
sentences. You could write an entire story based on the endless choices of
headlines alone.
Recently, President Bush talked about the direction of the country, national priorities
and security, consumer confidence, Iraq, our allies and enemies, and the
impact of terrorism on the world. Meanwhile, back in America we have bridges collapsing with an ever-increasing
number of water-main breaks due to lack of spending on infrastructure. We are
spending more than $250 million per day we don't have to be at war in Iraq. Global warming is causing the polar
ice caps to melt at rates faster than ever before in history and then add in a
slice of prosecutor firings. Yeah you, shook me all, night long. Fred Thompson
and Al Gore taunt from the sidelines while the Imperial Master himself, Dick
Cheney wants to redefine the role of Vice President, but he can't even handle a
shotgun. Earmarks led to a talk or need
for a third party or even better, a second party while we remember not to ask
or tell. Barry Bonds, the drinking age, perverts on the Internet preying on
children, Alberto Gonzales, surveillance cameras and even non-terrorist e-mails
of private citizens is going on right now.
Then abortion rings the bell, the
FDA in the pocket of the pharmaceutical companies, profit versus ethics, and
the issues of taxes, to raise or not raise, to be fair or flat, to have all of
these things in our memory, to use them, to help us, to find energy, and
evolution dictating health policy. Stem cell research, DNA, minimum wage, food
safety, toy safety, and our relationship with China. Throw in a little same sex marriage
and the potential for another Clinton to be in the White House. If Hillary
wins, as she stated would happen "inevitably," we would be extending the
dynasty of Bush's and Clinton's to 28 years if she wins twice. This is change? Cancer
rates go up exponentially, while more and more people get sick and can't pay
for health care, while we fight terror abroad even though people are suffering
right here at home. Immigration, evolution, and the environment all impact our
daily lives.
The
statistics show that nationally, about 41%-43% of the eligible voters vote. It
varies by state and by race, but rates have stayed pretty steady since the
1970's. The way candidates campaign is no more than a legalized form of bribery
and we have a system of public policy sold to the highest bidder. That's a great
deal of power and it's a great way to help make already rich folks even richer by
squandering the have-nots future for short-term profit. I hate to sound so
skeptical, but if you don't vote, the candidates could care less about you.
They are using the same laser guided missile tracking systems we used to take
out Saddam to track and solicit the votes of people that have voted before.
Just like the outcome of an Indy race being determined by hundredths of
seconds, the total count is predicted down to the decimal point way before the
election even takes place.
So what is
one to do with the tip of the iceberg?
Many say go out and buy a big house you can't afford, spend too much on
a car, get an iPod or iPhone, a flat screen TV, a hot mate, a bouncy mattress,
and forget everything else. But don't
forget the DVR and HD packaging. Sound familiar? Take a look around and it's
not hard to encounter lots of people that have turned a blind eye to all of
these issues and made their priority themselves, but we are in this together
whether you like everyone or not.
The bottom
line is that we are in this situation because most people don't hold elected
officials or corporations accountable. Politicians take money from big
companies interested in influencing policy and it creates favoritism and
influence. Everybody cares about these issues, but many folks have given up
worrying about them or feeling connected to them.
From now on, every time you take your wallet
out and buy something, think of it as a vote. You get a chance to exercise your
power as a consumer much more frequently than you do as a constituent in
elections. Do you now wonder every time you open a can of food if it will make
you sick, or if you give your child a new toy to chew on, will it have lead paint,
or when you drive over a bridge will it collapse? I know it happened a long
time ago, but I still refuse to buy Exxon-Mobil gas because of the Valdez spill in Alaska. I realize much of the gas and oil
comes from the same sources anyway, but it gives me a sense of power to reject
something that is bad by not buying it. If you buy shoes from a company that
employs child laborers to work in sweat shops, you are saying it is okay.
When you
combine your power as a consumer with your power as a constituent, you get
something that is very powerful and there is no reason for the political action
committees to be getting more influence on public policy. Your job is simple,
first of all, wipe that shit eating grin off your face and come back again next
week for another dose.
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