The Ultimate Journey To Understanding While Hiking Through A Partisan, Divisive Mine Field....
February 21st 2009 17:53
Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you your self test and judge to be true.
~Buddha
~Buddha
In what seems like a few short months ago I began a journey of understanding…
This journey came from somewhere beyond the circumstances that surrounded my own life and personal predicaments and stretched deep into the problems I observed on a daily basis in our system of government.
While political scientists sat in dank rooms forming up conspiracy theories of which President or Political Party was to blame for all of our social issues as a society my goal was to step outside of the box and to challenge the system entrenched in greed, strife and division.
It was around this same time that I heard the words of a man that spoke to the very heart of my anger, frustration and the sheer confusion I was feeling as I watched the country I loved being torn apart.
This man said he would lead the charge against the pointed fingers of partisanship, would unite the masses across party and racial lines and would ultimately put the power of our federal government back into the hands of the people and not the big business's who have the money and resources to lobby for their own interests.
I’m not sure exactly when the moment happened but the script was flipped, the speeches changed and the light that drew me in turned out to be a bug zapper.
History has shown us that in times of peril and crisis Americans have the sheer instinct to band together and pool resources to lift ourselves up by the boot straps and become strong again….
This is the moniker I have heard all my life in reference to the darkest periods of our nation’s history and I still stand resolute in the belief that this is still the case. 9-11 was proof of this as 90% of Americans dropped their party affiliation, racial, sexual and gender banners in support of our Commander and Chief to protect us from further attack.
The ultimate difference between our power and ability to unite in the 40's/50’s and our power and ability to unite in the 00’s is within the fact that we have gotten too comfortable relying on shadowy figures to ride the wave of circumstances to save us from oblivion.
No matter if it’s a Republican riding in on his white horse to bring morality back to the White House or if it’s a Democrat who talks of changing the tone in the Washington by rooting out lobbyists and crushing the 20 year two family dynasty of partisan leadership the results are always the same….
Promises are broken, the political party leadership takes over and campaign strategies along with historical landmarks are turned in partisan mandates to muscle the other side into submission.
A lot of big things went down this week that made me smile, feel ill and ultimately scratch my head.
Down trodden, abused and neglected the Republican National Committee finally veered to the side of common sense and elected the best man possible to resurrect the party of ....Lincoln..... What should have been a historical moment celebrated by the media with rejection of urban folklore of the Republican brand being a racist monopoly was relegated to the second page as a footnote.
The zealots who declared any American who dared to vote against the first African American President as a racist are in for a rude awakening.
During campaign “08” the word “Game Changer” became a common misused phrase. The part that saddens me about this word is within that fact that it was always used when someone of a different race or gender was interjected into a system that only saw white men govern our nation for so many years.
Issues like breaking up the good ole boy networks by injecting an outsider or a moderate was diminished into subplots in the fairy tale stories created around the campaigns.
What Steele brings to the leadership of the RNC goes well beyond the color of his skin and lies directly in the fact that he is a moderate. What this means for the nation is that both the DNC & RNC are being run by middle of the road politicians.
While this stated fact brings me joy it also leave me bracing for the pendulum to swing into my face as I have the raw understanding of the factors that have driven our politics for the past 30 years.
Much like our addiction to foreign oil we are also addicted to God & Gun politics and the major parties push it on us like a drug dealer to a client. It’s ultimately up to each and every one of us to “Just say no” when a man is elected through the sheer will of Grassroots politics and than turns it around to pressure the other side who is standing up for their beliefs against a bill loaded with pork goodies.
This isn’t the place where I’m looking to debate the 819 billion dollar stimulus package. Lord knows our economy needs a shot in the Ass but I’m also not going to let one side parade around and say that things need to be done fast and their bill is the only way to do it.
This would be the point where I usually stretch the envelope and ask the egg heads on Capitol Hill to compromise and take the best parts of both plans and do something…
Ripe with power from the left I don’t see this coming and my instincts tell me this will be yet another party line vote in the halls of our Congress.
“Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”
“There Is Always Pride Before the Fall”
These phrases continue to echo through my head as the majority is forgetting about the hearts, needs and beliefs of all Americans. When I say all Americans I’m talking about the 44% that didn’t vote for Obama and that deep portion of Congress in both houses that represent conservative values.
At this point in our nations history the last thing we need is the partisanship, lobbyist ties and bickering. Beyond all the speeches, catch phrases and promises that this wouldn’t be the case here we are again with the same show coming to you from the Halls of Capitol Hill for another 4-8 year engagement.
Welcome to the Show and I hope you enjoy your stay…
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