“I have learned two
things from politics…nobody is right all the time, and a broken clock is right
twice a day.” Bill Clinton at the
Democratic National Convention spelled out the foundation for politics, and the
reason it is so fractured right now. As the
Presidential Election comes closer and closer, I am struck more and more by the
politics of hate.
I go on tirades, and I
say terrible things. I look at political
pundits who I believe in my heart are lying through their teeth, and the first
words out of my mouth are “You’re not allowed to do that.” but again and again I find ladies and
gentlemen from either parties say things that are untrue, can easily be
checked, and yet continue to hold the lie up as if it were truth.
Right now there is an
ad from the Romney campaign condemning President Obama’s Welfare plans, saying
that the President is trying to get rid of the work requirement. When the ad was proven to be false by
independent organizations, the campaign was asked to remove the ad. From one of the political movers in the
Romney campaign, “We’re not going to have our campaign defined by
fact-checkers.” Defined by
fact-checkers? They are proven to be
lying on national television.
This comes once again
to the theory of cooperation. The filibuster
has been used in the 110th senate more than any congress in history,
because legislation is not the most important goal for politics right now. It is deciding whether or not President Obama
will be a one-term president.
I love President Obama,
and I think he has done a fantastic job.
Please disagree with me, and I will happily debate the issues with you
(it may get heated, but all’s fun in politics and good humor). But the goal of any party cannot be the
destruction of another’s candidacy. It is
to uphold the values of your constituency, to promote the progression of
America, and defend the ideals you hold within your heart.
Cooperation has been
taught to every individual in this country since the second grade. Ever since your teacher plucked the
fingerpaints out of your hands as you squabbled with your classmate, the first
words out of her mouth were “Share”. We all
have ideas about this country, how to better it, how to protect it, how to make
this country a beacon for the world stage.
But most importantly, we all live in this country. Let us all share it, not scream out when our
turn has been taken away.
“Our
best thoughts come from others”
-Ralph
Waldo Emerson
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