Political Thoughts

I'm awake during the day, and I slept at night.  It's some kind of miracle, or the universe is about to implode.  Either way, I'm sucking coffee like as if it were the nectar of life.  Maybe I'll even be productive today.  Hey, it could happen!  *cough* bullshit *cough*

So, onto business.  We find ourselves in the dawn of a new year, and unfortunately things aren't looking too good for the good ole USA.  Our government is far more worried about political agendas and holding the party line than actually accomplishing anything.  Those idiots nearly let the nation go sailing over the fiscal cliff, mainly because the GOP are a bunch of moronic asshats.  The Democrats aren't really much better though, just less organized honestly.  There has always been party rivalry, but in the past compromise was at least attainable.  Now we seem to have a government filled with schoolyard children who fold their arms and pout, saying it's either my way or no way.  The filibuster is being used in ways it was never intended to, often over trivial matters that pass unanimously later.  The GOP in the House, led by Boehner (whom I often call Boner in my head), were going to refuse a vote on Hurricane Sandy relief until members of their own party called them out on their bullshit.  They are playing politics with disaster relief, which is downright disgusting.

I would ask how we keep electing people like this, but the answer is painfully obvious.  Most voters are sheep.  If either party tells them something on the glowing box, they will fall into line and parrot the talking points.  People buy into the spin, it's really that simple.  Why else would working people think the republican party has their best interests at heart?  Mitt Romney headed the most disingenuous campaign in modern history, much to the fact checker's delight I'm sure.  Being caught in lies didn't stop him however, it only seemed to fuel further and grander lies.  Their campaign philosophy seemed to be that if you say something often enough, people will begin to believe it is truth.  Unfortunately, it almost worked.

We also have Fox News and conservative talk radio to contend with.  These people spin the truth however they wish, with near impunity.  The internet has made a real effort in recent history to call them out, but it seems a vain effort.  No matter how many times they are caught outright lying, their viewers and listeners still believe them to be the best and most unbiased source of news. 

It seems to me that our nation is teetering on the edge of a cliff, and not just a fiscal one.  If changes aren't made in our government, and quickly, we will topple over it with no hope of rescue.  With much of the world tied hopelessly to our economy, this would be a major disaster for everyone.  In time the rest of the world would recover, but I don't think the US would ever fully recover from such a momentous fall.

The people of this nation need to wake up.  We need to make a real effort to let those in power know that they are serving us, not the interests of their parties.  We have the power of our votes, the power of our voice, and the power to change the god damned channel.  It's high time we start using them properly.