Political Temperament

It’s campaign season again, GAAAAHHH! I used to be a follower of politics and in a way, still am. But it’s not about what’s best for the country anymore; it’s a game to most. It’s more like a Superbowl rally than any real content. If your team wins, then it’s great, throw a party and wear your team’s t-shirt. If your team loses, well don’t worry, you’ll get ‘em next time, and history shows you will in no more than 12 years. However once the excitement of the game has passed, most Americans lose interest and the people they elected get to do whatever they want with no regard to actually being held to the promises they made. Most forget what they said anyway, but boy could they get you pumped up with their speeches!

For those that aren’t fair-weather political followers, the constant bickering and complaining about the other side and the lack of any real results frustrates us into apathy and drives us off into our own little world, leaving only those who have less than patriotic interests at heart. We’ll turn on the TV or radio on occasion and get some “journalist’s” extremely biased view of the “facts” that will get our blood boiling and drive us off again.

Is it really so hard for the people in Washington, or those who want to be there, to speak clearly about their beliefs? Are they so afraid of driving off a potential vote that no one can stand up like a man and say that both sides are wrong and this is the way out, follow me!? Take Mitt Romney, the current Republican front runner. I’ve never liked him for various reasons, but figured I’d look at his site to see what platform he was running on. Under the Issues tab, all it had was a quote from him bashing Obama and canned rhetoric on what great principals America was founded and how we’re awesome (paraphrase). Not a word about how he could fix the economy if given the chance or how he would win the war. Really, that’s what it takes to get people to vote for you, pretty words and some inspiring pictures because if that’s the case I’m sad, very sad.

I’ve often thought about what I would do if I were king for a day or at the very least the ideal man I would vote for to do it for me:
• First thing we need it term limits, for everyone. It used to be that a stint in public office was a daunting chore and no one would want to more than a couple of terms. Nowadays elected officials sole job is to get reelected, doing as little actual work to better the country as possible for fear that it might upset that winning vote.
• Severe government budget cuts, starting with the government. Whenever cuts are proposed, it’s always said that the teachers and firemen will be the first to go. Really? What about your salary Mr. Senator? Let’s make some cuts there first. How about all of those little pet projects that nickel and dime the country into poverty? I realize that it may mean you don’t get as many donations for your reelection and that you may not be in office in a couple of years, but just think how you’ve helped the rest of us.
• Along those lines, shutting off the flow of monies to things like corn subsidies, unions, and other supposed standalone groups that have too much hold on the government. I’m not against organized labor when it comes to safety, fair wages, and the like, but under the table transactions and *wink*wink* *nod* deals don’t help anybody but the people at the top.
• Establishing a standard of conduct for government programs. If you get WIC, welfare, food stamps, unemployment, or other government funded programs you have to pass regular drug screenings and prove that you are attempting to better yourself and your country. We have become an entitlement nation. “I was born here so I should have X”. That’s not the way it works, or at least shouldn’t be. I think the programs I mentioned are great ones and there is a need for them but it should not be for those who feel they can live off of them and never have to produce anything in their lives.
• Less Federal Government involvement, period. From laws to taxes to spending. You should hardly ever know that the Fed even exists. Ideally the Federal Gov should only be involved in two things, national security and interstate commerce. That’s it! Now you could stretch the definitions of those to include things like the FCC, FDA, EPA, etc. But my tax dollars shouldn’t be spent on saving companies and funding idiotic research.
• Slim down the military. As an Air Force member this one’s hard for me to admit because it would mean losing my job potentially, but that’s how it should be. Before WWII there were very few career military people. It was your duty as a man to step up and defend your country when the time came but before and after you were just an average Joe. We built up for the Cold War and were on alert because of it but that’s been over for a while now and it’s time we trimmed the fat and removed the mindset of the career soldier from the military member.
• Along with that, become more isolationist in our military stance. Not completely isolated but America should not be the World’s police force. If there is not a clear and direct American benefit for us to be throwing million dollar missiles at or risking American lives, we should not be involved.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Essentially what I want is to be left alone. Leave my money alone, leave my property alone, leave my family alone. I’ll gladly serve my country and pay my reasonable taxes for the privilege of living in this great land, but allow my to pursue my happiness without Uncle Sam’s hands getting dirty in the process.

Now I would bet most so-called conservatives would agree with most of those principles, at least in public, however you’ll never hear a single one of them back a candidate who espouses them. All of the voices on the radio will tell you that they fully support these beliefs but we need to throw our support behind a big name, lest we throw it away. That’s crap. Someone once told me that if you vote for the lesser of two evils, all you will get is evil. It may just be my principles talking but isn’t it best to vote for the person who will do the best job, regardless of what letter is next to their name, and encourage your friends, coworkers, or listeners to do the same? Yes we may lose a few but I’d rather know that I voted according to my conscience than have an empty suit sitting in the oval office who will do nothing but disappoint for the next 4 to 8 years. Maybe I’m weird.

Thinking Ration-ally

     I was recently lamenting a missed opportunity. I was at an estate sale and say a WWII rations booklet that still had some war ration stamps in it. I do have an empty one already and the price at the time seemed too much for something that’s technically useless. However when thinking on it, it is a unique piece of American history that hopefully no one will have to see again. Shoulda coulda.

     That got me thinking, what if we did have to reinstitute rationing in America? Can you imagine the reaction from middle America getting told they CAN’T have something. Every spoiled daddy’s girl from New York to LA would unite in a collective whine so loud and piercing, credit card institutions the nation over would crumble from sheer agony. It would be the Twilight Bark of our age.

     Granted the recent decline in the economy has begun to wake people up to the possibility that their “needs” aren’t really necessities, but I doubt any significant number is at WWII or depression levels. It would be interesting to see people being told they would have to drive their 3 year old car a few more years, or that they couldn’t buy 1001 new toys for their kids because the materials were needed for the rationing. It would be interesting.

     Thankfully, due largely to influences by the Mrs., I think the Deering family would hardly notice. In fact, practices like cloth diapering and growing our own food has put us in a position to nearly be “off the grid” and self dependant. If only we had more land, and that windmill of course.