It's been a bit since I've let loose a really good long rant, so let's go.
The election is over, thank God. And while I am certainly relieved that most of the candidates I voted for won, I would be just as relieved if the 'other side' had won because it's over.
What most people, and certainly the spinsters at the popular media outlets are failing to grasp is that the election is not the end, it's the beginning. Our vote is not the only voice we have, we are able to contact and work with our politicians, from the school board level to the federal government level. Most representatives have a website that you can email them through, they all have an office near your house (relatively speaking) that you can go to and make your wishes known.
So to those of your saying that Obama's re-election is "the end" and "the worst thing ever", the "worst thing ever" would be for you to live in fear and despair and not put the political machine to work for you. Is it a perfect machine, no, not by a long shot. Are there landmines and roadblocks in the way of getting what you want to happen, to happen? Oh yes. But the machine CAN work if YOU work.
And while we are on the topic of the election, the results seem to have given all the racists the opportunity to stop holding back and really let loose on Obama. So many that claimed their motives were not racist, but were really concern for the country are now just letting their mouths fly with every horrible racial slur they can seem to think of. And it's disgusting. I mean really, this is 21st century America and we're still dealing with racism? Martin Luther King, Jr. must be so ashamed.
And yet the lunacy continues. I had to block a facebook friend because she insists on carrying on with all this horrible stuff about whether Obama is an American or not and how he's an Islamic and how he's going to force Sharia law on this country and on and on. I tried to be accepting of her, I really did, but I just couldn't take anymore. So many of these people just want to live in fear and aren't taking reality into account. They don't have one shred of proof to stand on and insist that their paranoia is as legitimate as other people's facts. I for one cannot live in fear, I choose hope. And love.
And yes, maybe it's contradictory to say love when I deleted her, but I didn't know her in real life, I tried to get to know her, but she had such fear. I cannot do fear. It was time to let her go. Maybe in 4 years when she sees that this country is still ok, and probably a whole lot better, she'll see her fear was misplaced.
It's my birthday in a couple days. I turn 45 this year. I honestly never thought I would live this long. And 6 years ago when I started down this path that has put me in the health condition I find myself in I honestly felt that this was the end for me.
But for whatever reason I am still here. Some say that God doesn't take you until your mission on earth is finished. I don't know if I believe that. Certainly God can work through the things I do, or don't do, for the good of all, but I don't know if God has a "purpose" or "mission" or "calling" for each of us. I think for some He does, but for everyday shmoes like me I think He just asks us to follow, learn, and listen. If you happen to do something that falls in line with God's wishes, so much the better.
And since we're talking about God, let's talk about how He figured in the election. So so much came from the "religious right" this time that it's hard to sort out what was real and what was just media hype. From a Mormon candidate to the pro-life movement, to the downright weirdness of claiming that Obama will bring about the end times, religion played a big part in how people voted.
I had many friends tell me their vote was strictly based on the pro-life stance. They honestly felt that electing Romney would bring an end to abortion. That, to me, is sad. The issue of abortion is so much more complicated than who gets elected President. Roe v. Wade was a decision handed down from the Supreme court and not a piece of legislation, therefore it will be no simple task for a President or anyone else to walk in and say "oop, that has to go". Also, there is so much more going on in America than abortion rights.
Don't get me wrong, I think your faith should guide your actions when it comes to voting as much as it should guide you in other aspects of your life. However, focusing on one issue and declaring that you are doing God's Will with your vote based on that one issue, I don't think that's the way to go. If God is concerned about abortion He's also concerned about hunger and healthcare and fiscal responsibility and war and ... and ... and.... God is bigger than one issue.
And even within that one issue there is so much variation in opinions. I have written on my own position on abortion. Most people would call me pro-choice, but my view is so much more complex than the black and white most people boil it down to. I want abortion to end, but it can't end by legislation. Government's role in ending abortion isn't to legislate it one way or another, it should be in supporting programs that end unwanted pregnancies.
Also there are many that voted or didn't vote for one or the other Presidential candidate, and many that voted for neither, based on their religious affiliation - or what some claimed was their affiliation. Many conservatives that would have voted for any other Republican candidate refused to vote for Romney because he belongs to the LDS church. Many liberals wouldn't vote for Obama because of the rumor that he is Muslim. It was a very sad situation all the way around. As I said before, faith should guide your actions, but your faith or the faith some claim you have, has no real bearing on your ability to do a job.
And then there was the whole movement that Christians shouldn't vote at all. The claim was that God is in control so why should we bother? Our vote makes no difference because God chooses our leaders. God grants all authority so our vote means nothing. I think this is a mistaken premise and have written about it elsewhere in this blog, but my point is it was just more of the madness that surrounded this election.
But I ramble...
So how do we move forward? I'm not sure we can, not as united Americans, not like we've been able to do in the past. I think the false division that has been fostered by the media has become a real division, even if it is only based on emotion and fear and that chasm is too wide to be crossed, not without drastic changes to our political system.
How do we make those changes? I don't know. I'm not an expert by any means, but I think the first thing we do is do away with the electoral college, go to a popular vote, change the way we vote, allow voting to happen over a period of time rather than a day, and allow electronic means of voting over the Internet. This will change the way candidates campaign and how they spend campaign funds. Also, though it's probably impossible without a huge grass-roots movement, we need to end the two-party political system that prevents our government from actually working. Too much power is given to one party or the other to inhibit the functioning of government at any given time on any given issue.
So what else is bugging me lately?
My head. My head is freaking killing me. It's getting worse. The migraine thing is nearly constant. Sometimes it' sbig, most times it's small, but small for a migraine is still really freaking painful. Not to mention the dizziness, nausea, the blinky light thing that affects my vision. It really really sucks.
Anyone who claims that people who support "Obamacare" and other public assistance programs are "lazy" and just "want the government to care for them" I will gladly give them just 2 minutes of my headache. I would trade anything to have enough health to be able to work a normal job. Any job. Do I enjoy sitting here, day after day, pill after pill, doing pretty much nothing other than trying to control my pain enough to keep from crapping my own pants? Seriously do you think I just want to be taken care of? This disease or condition or whatever it is has taken everything from me. It's stripped me of my manhood, cost me the respect of my wife and children and just about every friendship I had (though I have made new ones thanks to the Internet). I don't want government care, I want to be fixed.
That enough ranting for now. See you later.
