WILL WE EVER LEARN? HIGHLY UNLIKELY!
Just before the presidential election of 2012, the Tri County Record ran a series of articles I wrote entitled: WANTED: Character in the Leadership of the United States. Different character traits were listed that I thought the people of the United States should look for in every person who was running for political office should have. The traits included: God fearing, integrity, truthfulness, fiscal responsibility, transparency and freedom of the people. Obviously, at least one of four things was wrong with the articles I wrote: my ideas were a farce, nobody read the articles, the readers disagreed with me or the paper’s circulation was too small. It is my hope that the circulation was the only thing lacking.
If we are going to have a government for the people the leadership must start from the top. The example must be set by the President and his staff! Please go back to the introductory paragraph and read those traits once again. I would not give a passing grade to the President and most of his cronies on any of the traits. I will not rehash all of their failings and present arguments for them but if each of us was paying attention over the past six years, we could site at a minimum 8 to 12 areas where they have failed miserably. But wait! In case you think I am writing this to just bash the current administration, think again. The minority party has been weak, unorganized and not unified. Many of them probably could not measure up to the traits either.
So, it’s solely the politicians fault, right? Wrong! We all play a part for putting them in office. Two quick examples are a couple of people I’ve talked to only considered one thing apiece for the job appraisal of our current President: The first voted for him because he endorsed abortion. The second thought he was doing a great job because the stock market was up! These two people exemplify the shallowness of the American voter. When voting for an elected official, his or her entire voting record and the job they have done should be considered.
Will things get better in the 2014 and 2016 elections? I am not a scholar in how the government is run, but with my limited knowledge, I would say without a great turn around of the American people, things will only get worse. I think our current leaders are shrewd because they create one “red herring trail” after another with their blunders (or purposeful actions). When one huge “mistake” is made (to favor them) there is not enough time to thoroughly investigate it before they create another. If these people worked for a solid corporation (assuming it wasn’t government run – although solid and government run is an oxymoron), they would unceremoniously be fired! Of course the apathy and “gime – gime” of the American people are great hindrances of the system.
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, in 2012 only 57.5% of eligible citizens voted (http://bipartisanpolicy.org/library/report/2012-voter-turnout). This may not be all bad considering how the current citizens (and if the President has his way, the illegal aliens in the future) are voting.
Our government is too: big, bureaucratic, greedy and slow to accomplish what we must. I close with two quotes that are all too true in the United States today.
Andrew Carnegie once said, “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do”.
I know little about the British rock band Supertramp that formed in 1969 so I don’t endorse them. However, they did have insight when writing the Crime of the Century lyrics, “Now they’re planning the crime of the century, well what will it be? Read all about their schemes and adventuring, It’s well worth a fee. So roll up and see, And they rape the universe, How they’ve gone from bad to worse, Who are these men of lust, greed, and glory? Rip off the masks and let’s see. But that’s not right – oh no, what’s the story? There’s you and there’s me, that can’t be right”.
So goes our politics and our nation!
Jeff Hall, Honey Brook, submits columns to the Tri County Record.
