Dislike politics? Politics absolutely loves you!!
Remember all those little warnings your mother gave you as she tried to prepare you for life? Be nice to your brother or sister. Never run with scissors. Always wear clean underwear when you go out. Never discuss sex, religion or politics.
The first three might still apply, but the last three have been murdered by modern life. Even if you don't talk about it, movies and television soap operas, to the consternation of the morality police, have outed sex. Conservative republicans, to the consternation of supporters of the separation of church and state, have outed religion. And politics, to the detriment of the effective and efficient functioning of the entire nation, wants you to be deaf, dumb and blind.
Frankly, I've always found it amusing and frustrating when someone tells me they never discuss politics or don't like politics or distrust politics or the government. Although neither teachers, politicians or the political party in power will ever spill the beans, it is the citizen who is complacent, uninterested, unaware and unconscious that they love the most. And considering that only about half the country exercised their rights of citizenship in the last election, there are a lot of you out there for them to love.
Too bad few comatose citizens will bother to read these comments, but let me put them in context anyway. Anytime you hit a pot hole in the highway, don't complain because you're to blame. When the price at the gas pump jumps again, grit your teeth and pay up. It's your fault. If you lose your job because the company sent it elsewhere, just start job hunting again because you asked for it. If milk costs too much, or your pension disappears, or the interest on your credit card charges jumps to 50%, or your mother-in-law loses her home and moves in with you, or your kids do poorly in school, or your property tax triples, or you can't find a doctor who will take you without insurance, or the water from your faucet smells funny, or the bridge down the road isn't safe to cross, or any of hundreds of other calamities befall you, don't cry, or wail or make threats. You were simply loved to death for your disinterest.
It's when you don't care or are not involved or don't see what's happening around you that you're letting politics do whatever it wants and not what it's supposed to do. You're letting politics control you because you can't be bothered to monitor and control them. Your awareness matters. You knowledge makes them nervous. Your informed complaints, issued loudly and frequently, give them palpitations. Your refusal to blindly agree to whatever they propose makes them rethink their strategy. Your involvement in your community, your demand for higher standards, your willingness to vote with your brain, your feet, your voice and your conscience is the only that will deter corruption and encourage honesty.
We always hear that prostitution is the oldest profession. What we don't hear is that prostitution answers to politics because politics was not only there first, but politicians were the first marketing executives, advertising gurus, prostitutes and pimps. Never forget that as the consumer, whether in the political equivalent of Wal-Mart or a Lexus dealership, you are the one with the power. You are the one that controls the communal purse. You are the one that determines the environment in which political games will thrive or die. All you need do is wake up, stand up, and every time they deserve it, give them hell.
Remember all those little warnings your mother gave you as she tried to prepare you for life? Be nice to your brother or sister. Never run with scissors. Always wear clean underwear when you go out. Never discuss sex, religion or politics.
The first three might still apply, but the last three have been murdered by modern life. Even if you don't talk about it, movies and television soap operas, to the consternation of the morality police, have outed sex. Conservative republicans, to the consternation of supporters of the separation of church and state, have outed religion. And politics, to the detriment of the effective and efficient functioning of the entire nation, wants you to be deaf, dumb and blind.
Frankly, I've always found it amusing and frustrating when someone tells me they never discuss politics or don't like politics or distrust politics or the government. Although neither teachers, politicians or the political party in power will ever spill the beans, it is the citizen who is complacent, uninterested, unaware and unconscious that they love the most. And considering that only about half the country exercised their rights of citizenship in the last election, there are a lot of you out there for them to love.
Too bad few comatose citizens will bother to read these comments, but let me put them in context anyway. Anytime you hit a pot hole in the highway, don't complain because you're to blame. When the price at the gas pump jumps again, grit your teeth and pay up. It's your fault. If you lose your job because the company sent it elsewhere, just start job hunting again because you asked for it. If milk costs too much, or your pension disappears, or the interest on your credit card charges jumps to 50%, or your mother-in-law loses her home and moves in with you, or your kids do poorly in school, or your property tax triples, or you can't find a doctor who will take you without insurance, or the water from your faucet smells funny, or the bridge down the road isn't safe to cross, or any of hundreds of other calamities befall you, don't cry, or wail or make threats. You were simply loved to death for your disinterest.
It's when you don't care or are not involved or don't see what's happening around you that you're letting politics do whatever it wants and not what it's supposed to do. You're letting politics control you because you can't be bothered to monitor and control them. Your awareness matters. You knowledge makes them nervous. Your informed complaints, issued loudly and frequently, give them palpitations. Your refusal to blindly agree to whatever they propose makes them rethink their strategy. Your involvement in your community, your demand for higher standards, your willingness to vote with your brain, your feet, your voice and your conscience is the only that will deter corruption and encourage honesty.
We always hear that prostitution is the oldest profession. What we don't hear is that prostitution answers to politics because politics was not only there first, but politicians were the first marketing executives, advertising gurus, prostitutes and pimps. Never forget that as the consumer, whether in the political equivalent of Wal-Mart or a Lexus dealership, you are the one with the power. You are the one that controls the communal purse. You are the one that determines the environment in which political games will thrive or die. All you need do is wake up, stand up, and every time they deserve it, give them hell.
posted by kaz at 7:23 PM
1 Comments:
Absolutely correct! We always only have ourselves to blame when things go wrong. I'm thinking of the lamentable Broolyn-Queens Expressway work that, sadly, after at least 20 years, is still going on - and we haven't risen up about that..yet. Welcome to the blogosphere, my friend. email to follow
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