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Aug 6, 2004 Let’s understand that I am neither a democrat nor a republican. I vote for whomever I think will try to do a good job. That in no way means that I believe what they say; I don’t. But I vote because it is my right and I really do try to pick someone I feel is not a total idiot. It keeps getting harder though. I have never really had an interest in politics. I put this disinterest down to my very cynical nature and the abiding belief that most politicians outright lie. Plus, I feel that no one can really make that much of a difference in my life or anyone else’s. No one in the White House is going to change my life by their policies. Everything is subjective. For example, if an elected politician says that the economy is great and you’re unemployed and having a hard time paying your bills, well how great is the economy for you? Not very. By the same token, if you’re rolling in dough and the economists of a certain administration are giving out doom and gloom reports, it hardly matters to you at all. Both candidates this year are making promises and statements of how they’re going to change your life. I know they’re not going to change mine. I’ve had experience in the past. John Edwards was quoted as saying: “Your neighbor who works 24/7 will be helped by a Kerry administration.” Really? Sorry John, but I don’t think so. My neighbor, who just happens to work long hours at a trucking firm has been working these same long hours through three administrations; two republican ones and one democratic one. No one so far, promises aside, helped alleviate his long hours. Why should he believe someone will help now? George W. has said that his administration has done “wondrous things” for the American public and that we are “better off now than we were four years ago.” Exactly what has he done and how are we better? I don’t see it. There are many people I know who are just the same as they were four, eight, twelve years ago and they haven’t seen the “wondrous things.” I am cynical but that is my problem or maybe it is my saving grace. I don’t get fooled by empty promises or glad-handing politicians. I will vote again this year for whomever is the lesser idiot but I don’t expect any real changes to occur in my life. There will always be taxes, there will always be a war somewhere in the world where American lives are lost; there will always be unemployment, homelessness, and poor school systems. One person and their administration cannot change these things. Life is subjective and it all depends on where we are at any given time. Our good times or bad times are solely our own. Maybe it is asking too much of one person to do it all. I just wish they wouldn’t go around making empty promises or patting themselves on the back for nothing. And, oh yeah, one more thing, I wish they’d stop lying to us. We’re not the idiots. ------------ About the author Kristen Houghton: Working on a book of short stories, I write a column, "The Writer's Block" on observations of everyday life and a column for educators called iTeach! Email: Krisnalan@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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