OK, so I voted this week though grudgingly; it was on my to do list right after getting my flu shot, so you can tell how happy I was to perform my civic duty. I have to give myself credit just for showing up. Someone I know who has been a regular voter for a lifetime sat this one out in protest, so disenchanted and ticked off is she. It’s just as well. Turns out her vote would have been diametrically opposed to mine, canceling out my afternoon’s activity, so I’m glad my own effort was not for naught.
The concept of not voting, no matter how disgusted one may be with the course America’s one, is anathema to me. It is still one of the last bastions of choice in this great democracy of ours. These days, we seem to be more and more constricted with less and less choice. I’m not talking about what brand of cereal or shoes or car insurance plans you buy. I’m talking about the choices that come with financial freedom and job mobility, the liberation of not having to pay outrageous taxes, the freedom to back down from a senseless war, or the peace that comes with feeling hope for the immediate future and beyond. In those ways, I am a prisoner in the America of today, just like anyone else who feels that the quality of life in 2010 is just not what it was supposed to be at this point in our lives.
My taxes in this town just surpassed a significant marker and I am paying almost 75 percent more than we did when we moved into our home Will’s lifetime ago. The quarterly payment is due, yes again! There is no end to the joy! And yet, while Katie and Molly enjoyed Outdoor Ed, the learning overnight with their classmates at the end of sixth grade, there is a good chance that it will be canceled for Will’s sixth grade class unless the dedicated mothers devoted to resurrecting it successfully raise the money.
There is no money for a pit band for musical performances. The editing equipment in the highly rated video production program is old, ancient in the warp-speed aging standards of technology, and yet, there is no money to replace it. At least we are not Hamilton, which had to cut all middle school sports because of budget woes and reduce bus transportation for children within a certain radius of their schools.
As a conscientious budget shopper and coupon clipper, it does not sit well with me that I am paying a lot more for less, and I know that I am not alone.
So how is it that a California candidate who made gazillions of dollars with her own company can spend $150 million and still not win her desired seat? In a state that has led the nation in technological development, it is criminal to have schools that are failing their children, to have towns where greedy politicians raid the coffers while the homeless go hungry, to have communities that are bankrupt and cutting police department numbers even as crime skyrockets.
What could that $150 million have done to relieve daily pain? It is obscene to have so much want and at the same time have so many resources squandered at the other end. Sorry to say, some of these candidates simply deserved to lose because their priorities seem so skewed.
I studied Communism as a political science major in college, and it is easy to see how it fails as a system of government because it does not take into account the essence of human nature, which is to work harder when personal gain is involved. The concept of “from each according to ability, to each according to need” only feeds the tendency of some to be lazy and sit back while others do the work. Just look at the volunteer system of our local schools and you can easily understand this –– it is always the same 10 percent who show up to do the work and the 90 percent who sit back and let them.
It is not my nature to be cynical, but I am tired of this mood of doom and gloom and want the clouds to lift. Elections historically can mark huge turning points, and I am hoping that the very same people who booted the Democratic majority in the House will begin to see some results.
I want to get what I pay for and not feel ripped off.
I want the stupid, yes, stupid, lingering war in the Gulf to be over, no more American lives lost, and loved ones home for the holidays. I want to be able to travel without worrying about bombs in the cargo hold or terrorists in the lobby.
I want my children to graduate into fruitful careers and not receive the multiple rejections that the classes of 2009 and 2010 are seeing in droves.
I want my children to be able to give their kids the thrill of seeing Broadway shows, going to the school of their choice, buying the house they want, without being overwhelmed by the taxes and debt that we leave behind for them.
It’s like the signs you see at the national parks: please clean up after yourself and leave the campsite cleaner than you found it. The big question is: is our generation honestly going to be able to do that?
