The battle for your vote

Just in case you have been in a serious accident and have just aroused from a Coma, I need to tell you that it is 2008, and there is a Presidential election just around the corner. The good news is that you haven't missed alot. This election is pretty much the norm, except for the first time in U.S. history, we have a woman and a black man running for the Democratic presidential seat, and on the Republican side of the coin, nothing as monumental. Kind of a Bush in disguise, actually. (Bush's mini-me, if you will.)

Now, you think something that is history in the making would really be something special, and handled with all the dignity a National Election should be treated with, but that is not the case. I know! It's a shocker! No, rather than allow this to be an election based on who is best suited all around to handle the most important office of our Nation, we again have to endure the poopflinging smear campaigns and attacks upon one another's character, beliefs, abilities and associates.

I, for one am so tired of the adds, the back-biting and personal attacks. In fact, I am just plain tired of the entire mess and just want it to be done with. Don't we have enough conflict and seperation in this country without our own elections creating a gap between our people? After all, despite all the promises, despite all the rhetoric, the actuality is no matter who is elected, things will move along slowly and we will still have troops in other places, gas will still be sky high, and there will still be pockets of corruption within our governing system.

So, what are we to do? I don't have the slightest idea, but I do know somethings just don't work. Perhaps that is what we should begin focusing on. For instance, can't we get rid of the lobbyists who seem to have this endless supply of cash to wave in our politician's faces? You know. Those special interest folks that seem to get their hooks into our political representatives and twist their ideals while fueling the entire political machine. After all, those we elect are only human. Everyone in this world can be manipulated in one way or another, and money is a very strong tool to use for coercian. Should we not do away with the temptation when we know just how corruptable the Human Species is? Yet, the lobbyists wander the halls and shadows of our government, padding pockets and directing many of our elected officials. This just dosen't seem right to me. How about you?

I love the place in which I live, and I am proud of the accomplishments of both our country and our citizens. But, I am embarassed by the way we are seen throughout the world. To many, we are the "Ugly Americans". We seem to have this need to flex the muscle of our military, and the most annoying habit of telling others how to run their homelands, and indeed we step in when our messages are not heeded. We are not the police. Why do we need to act in that capacity? It is not like we have the endless funds to do so. It is time to realize we, as a Nation can be very supportive without bankrupting ourselves.

We have so many resources in this country and we have so many strong and good hearted people who live here, I find it difficult to understand why we need resort to war and conflict every few years. In fact, our present postion has really put us all behind the eight ball. Not only us, but almost every other country as well. We need to realize that our actions have a world wide affect. Unless we find alternative resolutions to our problems, as a whole, I am afraid to think where we may be heading.

I suppose what I am trying to say is simply this. As a people, we need to make a very important decission in the next few months. We need to elect an individual who will have our best interests in mind as they lead us through the next four years. We need someone with drive, intelligence and some savvy to try to reverse the financial mess we are in at the present moment. The question is, which of our candidates will best put us back on track. The color and sex of our next president is not important. What is important is the fact that we need a strong leader we can all be proud of, and one who can begin the repair of our Nation"s woes.

Let us not forget that although there are starving person's all over the world, there are those in our own country in similar predicaments. Although there are those in other countries who are homeless, we also have more than our share who are homeless. Although there are those in other places dieing of diseases, we too lose our share each and everyday. In fact, we have people who were uprooted from their homes by Katrina two years ago who are no closer to being back into their neighborhoods than they were the day after the storm hit. In fact, the very infrastructure of one of our largest cities is crumbling, and we have bridges within our country which are major arteries for the shipment of goods Nation wide, that are literally falling down as they are being driven on. Yet, these subjects are not really discussed because the major National Eye is on a war in a place whose sects of people seem to relish blowing one another into oblivion. And as usual, after the war is done, we will have thousands of wounded soldiers who will be suffering from strange and unknown problems from exposure to battlefield rubble that the government will either ignore, or dismiss all together for several years, not to mention the loss of life of our countrymen who will only return home, posthumously.

This November, when you pull the curtain behind you and you look over the ballot in front of you, vote confidently, vote intelligently. Remember this is an election that will put an individual in charge of our country for the next four years. Remember you are electing the next Commander In Chief of one of the most powerful military machines in this world. Remember you are electing an individual who will be responsible for the way we are seen in this world. Choose carefully and well.

It is not my place to say this candidate is better than that one. That is a matter of personal opinion. I hope in my heart that when the dust settles in November, the individual who steps into that Oval Office is ready and well suited to guide us through the mess the present administration has put us in. I pray that whoever sits in the Presidential seat will put aside their personal referendums and will focus on rebuilding the respect we have lost in this world over the past few years. I pray they will have the strength, intelligence and resolve to help us rebuild our homeland and our own faith in our governing system.

Peace to us all.