So Over It

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I am quitting politics.  From this moment forward, I vow to discuss politics only with my family and that only occasionally. 

Why you ask?  Well, maybe you don’t ask.  Maybe you could care less.  I’m going to assume that if you’re still reading, you do wonder why.  OK, I will try to sum up my thoughts and feelings for you.

It is a waste of my time.  I’m not really going to influence anyone that has their mind made up.  From what I can tell, that is just about every person with a pulse.  They may not admit it publicly, but deep inside they know whom they favor.  Some folks feign independence or open-mindedness, but I’m not buying it.  I will allow (in the interest of avoiding another pointless argument) that some folks really do not have any idea as to which candidate they will vote for, but those types are few and far between.  Let’s face it – people, by and large, are going to vote for the establishment candidates. 

My personal belief is that the two major party candidates are selected and vetted by the real power in this country: the very wealthy.  There are other very wealthy, non-citizens outside of this country that also have a say.  Politics is all about money and power.  Money and power provide influence.  I have very little money, no power and zero influence.   Ultimately, politicians care very little about what we lower middle-class folks think.  They will only listen if we are in mass agreement, and that is almost guaranteed not to happen until we have some sort of mega-disaster that jars people into realistic thinking and caring about things outside of their own little TV and mass media soaked world. 

I’m sick and tired of it.  Seriously.  We change teams every few years or so and things never get better.  The government NEVER GETS LESS POWER.  Government never shrinks or has fewer departments and fewer laws.  It’s always a net gain for government – which should explain to any thoughtful person how we’ve ended up with giant leviathan we call our central, federal government. 

Every election it’s the same thing.  The Red Team gets mad at the Blue Team.  Red Team wins.  Government gets more power.  Blue Team gets mad at Red Team.  Blue Team wins.  Government gets more power.  Inevitably, some people begin to think that a new party or an independent candidate might be the answer.  They are then laughed out of politics by the giant money/media/corporate machine that selects the two party candidates we get to vote for.  Lies are made up and distortions of record, void of any contextual anchor are ginned up, while any past mistake or missteps that the third party independent candidate has made are blown out of proportion and context.  Viola – the candidate has no chance at election. 

People get genuinely angry over this stuff.  Some even literally hate you if you’re on the opposite team.  I have had enough.  I’m getting off the carousel.  I’m not saying I won’t vote, but I am done discussing it.  Under the current corporate owned system, I find myself amused if you think you have any real power or influence with your vote. 

I will close with a prediction.  It’s not like I’m taking much of a chance here, but I predict that after the next election, government will get bigger and have more influence over your personal life – no matter which establishment party candidate wins.