Political free agent.... kind of.

I read a blog the other day that said, "The shit is about to get real" in reference to politics.  Isn't that refreshing?  After 240 years or so, the shit is going to get real, now!  That's quite possibly the dumbest God damned thing I've ever heard and I'll tell you why.

I didn't really start paying attention to politics until 2008.  It was a pivotal time in our country as we elected the first African American to be the President of this great land.  As with every President who took office before him, the President made all kinds of promises that were nothing short of utter bullshit. The bullshit comes with a side order of irrepressible ass kissing pageantry, the likes we get to endure every 4 years whether we like it or not.  It allows us the opportunity to witness idiots with over inflated egos claim that they and only they possess the skills necessary in order to turn the ship around.  They (and we, for that matter) fail to understand that the ship wouldn't need to be righted if they had a clue as to what they were doing.  Instead of being the steadfast, honorable humans they claim to be, they always prove that they are in over their heads and are bought and sold as freely as penny stocks.  The sad news is, we appear to be okay with it. I only say that because we allow it to happen time and time again,  If these people where honorable, instead of kissing babies and shaking hands, they'd cut to the chase and shake the babies and kiss more ass and just let us know that they've sold out to special interest groups.

So for this other blogger to say something as ridiculous as "the shit is about to get real", there would have to be some changes.  We've been doing this for 44 Presidential elections and are on the way towards electing the 45th President of the United States.  The only change we've seen is that the candidates seem to get more ridiculous and by most rights don't appear to be electable.  We are more than willing to elect someone with no honor, no integrity.  Recently I've heard people say that they are going to vote for someone they know is a turd, just so the other turd doesn't get that vote....  Seems reasonable...  And you wonder how the nation got in the situation its in?

If "the shit were about to get real", we'd start doing something different.  We're not doing that.  In fact, we are doing more of the same old song and dance and we sit there with our hands in the air and wonder what in the hell is going on.  The factis, nobody is paying attention to what is really going on.  The nation is too busy being locked up in an us v.s. them battle, and its exactly what the system wants.  When we are too concerned with what the other guy is doing, we allow the system to prop up politicians who've been senators and congressmen who miss 40%, 50%, 60% or more of their votes. This is supposed to be our voices being heard.  How is that representation?  Rubio, right now has missed in the neighborhood of 40% of the votes he is supposed to be there voting on.  Obama missed 64% of the votes in 2008.  John Kerry missed 89% of the votes in 2004.  John McCain missed over 80% of the votes in 2008 and he doesn't even know how many houses he has!  Am I the only person bothered by this shit? We're apparently okay with trying to elect people who can't count. If any one of us were to miss 40-80% of our work days, we'd be unemployed quick, fast and in a hurry.  Not these jack asses... Nope, they put themselves in for a raise.

Yeah, the shit is about to get real, all right.  Real dumb, and at a time where we don't need another dose of stupid.  The good news is, we apparently don't give a shit.  Americans are going to rush to the polls and vote for someone to fill most powerful position in the free world and we wouldn't trust that person to run a bake sale at a local elementary school.  Fucking brilliant....  At this point, it would be just as smart to elect a bunch of hookers and crack heads.  It's totally plausible that there are hookers and crack heads with better reputations and more dignity than today's politicians.  At the very least we'd know that we voted for and elected crack heads and prostitutes.

That brings me to this.  The Democrat Party seems to be split between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  Some of the crazy shit Bernie Sanders says almost seems reasonable at this point.  The shit is so crazy, so far out of line that it almost seems like the right thing to believe at least on the basis that even he believes it.  Then there's Hillary...  With her track record, how can anyone believe that she is worthy of anything more than being a writer for the National Enquirer?  Hillary, someone so far removed from the middle class has half of her party buying into the notion that she knows what you are going through.  At the same time, she is too good to poop in the same bathrooms as you and I.

On the Republican side you have Dr. Ben Carson whom I thought was the most authentic, most smart individual in the race.  What does he go an do?  He says you catch homosexuality in prison.... a God damned brain surgeon who has no clue as to how the brain works.  I'm thankful he is slipping in the polls but he still seems to be a reasonable candidate when you compare him to Cruz.  Cruz is the "true conservative".  He believes in small government, freedom and liberty for all people, unless of course you are a democrat, or gay, or female.  In that case he calls for more government to restrict liberty and freedom to anyone who doesn't feel the same way he does.  By the way, he already doesn't show up for votes about 30% or more of the time.  It just seems logical that we'd like to employ a guy who misses work 10 days out of a 30 day month.  And let us not forget the ever popular Donald Trump.  "He says whatever he wants."  "He's not establishment."  Yeah, he says whatever he wants.  Completely baseless shit like, "The President has made all of the wrong calls.  I'll make the right ones.  It's gonna be great.  Trust me.  It's gonna be great."  Republicans?  This guy is a Democrat!  He was a giant supporter of the Clinton's.  Republicans hate Democrats and hate the Clinton's more but have no problem supporting this guy?

I really don't want to bring this up because it is a more sensitive issue than politics, but I have to question everyone on the Republican side who is touting religion as their strong point.  Hell, Donald Trump has resorted to carrying and misquoting the bible in an attempt to garner the Christian vote, and it appears to be working.  How in the fuck is this working?  HOW?

Look, I don't care about your religion or lack there of.  To me, its a personal thing and who am I to stand in the way of what you want to do or believe?  As far as I am concerned, you can believe and worship whatever you want.  It's none of my business and you're guaranteed these rights in whats left of the Constitution.  But if Christianity was the only "true religion",  Why aren't good Christians like the examples we have running for office praying to Jesus for a hand?  Or if they are, why isn't God listening?  Why is it getting worse rather than better?  I know, God works in mysterious ways... or just doesn't work at all like most politicians.  God can't make this better and he can't heal an amputee.  So, for the sake of all things holy, lets take God out of the equation and try to work on the shit that we mere mortals can work on....  Oh yeah.  That takes us back to this wonderful pool of degenerates that are running for office.

This government has been run predominantly by Christians (except Obama and you've all warned us about his Islamic Jihadist ass) and even with Jesus on our side, we've amassed this giant debt.  Prayers ain't a working.  That is why if I were a Christian, I'd leave Jesus out of this.  It makes it look as if he hates us or something.  Religion is one thing and politics another.  Clearly they don't go together.  It ain't working, ya'll.  But, I bet we keep doing the same old shit in this regard as well and still expect change.  Again, were back at square one.... Who'd have thunk it?

I'm open to suggestions, people.  What are we supposed to do in order to exact change?  More Jesus?  More government?  More rules and regulations?  Or, do we actually do something knew, something different?  The problem is, I know us.  We aren't going to do anything other than sit and complain about 'the other guy' and claim that our guy is the "solution".  240 years people.  240 years.  We've been doing the same thing for 240 years and things have steadily gotten worse.

I'm asking for solutions because I am not smart enough to figure this thing out.  I will tell you what I am going to do.  Whether it be right or wrong, I am taking a new approach.  I'm not voting.  In my opinion, if you rush out to the polls and vote, you are saying that you are okay with a system that you fully admit that is broken and no longer works.  To me, the proof is in the pudding.  We keep electing the same caliber of people, the same professional career politicians and we wonder why shit isn't changing.  By voting for these turds, we are assuring that nothing will get accomplished and we are going to be playing the same game.

I'm only going to stay "involved" by calling out the liars and the bullshit when I see it.  I'm going to call out government agencies like the EPA for their debacles (think mine waste spill they caused that polluted the Arkansas river) and ask why nothing is being done.  Had you or I done the same thing, we'd be imprisoned and fined beyond what we thought was even possible.  I'm going to ask for accountability but I know you can't ask for accountability from people who aren't capable of owning up to the things they've done or haven't done.

I've "been involved" in this pageantry for nearly 30 years, doing the same thing over and over 'because its my duty".  I refuse to contribute to this dysfunction and then complain about it.  I find it hypocritical and I'll save being a hypocrite for other occasions.  We're at a point now where we are so divided as a country and the media does a great job keeping us engaged with this fight and the God damned Kardashians rather than giving us the truth or at least a level of semi-honest objectivity that we deserve.  By the way, why aren't we demanding that?  Why are we not demanding that news be less about entertainment and arguing and more about the truth and objectivity?

We can do better, but we have to change and we have to demand change.  The system, in my opinion, is too big and too controlling by people other than ourselves.  Until we get that back, we can expect more of the same.  We're used to being lied too.  We're used to being taken advantage of.  We're used to the government/system getting its way and its not going to change until WE change it.  We can't keep looking to the same crooked people and expect change but we've bought into that notion.  We've bought into the idea that this is the only way out and in reality, its the only way in.

Politics reminds me of something I did when I was a little kid.  I'll preface this by saying that I have always been a hard learner, but I think this story is fitting.  I was about 6 years old and my mother had to leave town for a couple of days and employed my cousin to watch over us.  I had 2 light bulbs in the lighting fixture in my bedroom and both were burnt out.  I decided that this was an opportune moment to learn how to change a light bulb, so I stacked my clothes hamper upon my bed and climbed atop said hamper in order to be able to reach the light fixture.

I quickly figured out how to loosen the nut that held the glass globe in place and removed the globe.  I reached back up and removed one bulb, then the next.  Apparently I had been out of my cousins view just long enough that he thought he'd better see what I was up to.  He came in my room as I was balanced on my hamper and asked, "What are you doing?"  I told him I was changing the light bulbs and must have been convincing enough to make him believe I was operating within reasonable parameters.  He asked if I knew where the replacement bulbs were and I told him I did.  Before exiting the room, he said "Don't stick your finger in the light socket" and he turned and left.

So there I stand, on a clothes hamper stacked up on the corner of by bed... staring at the light socket.  I remember thinking, "why would he say some shit like that?"  In retrospect, I was given enough information in order to assume that sticking my finger in the light socket was going to be a bad idea, but I didn't have the ability to listen to responsible information and I jammed my finger into the light socket.

The next thing I remember was my body being parallel to the floor about 6 feet in the air.  I plummeted towards the hamper which was now on its side, on the corner of the bed.  I landed on it with my rib cage and broke the wicker piece of shit into about 30 pieces and the recoil of the bounce sent me head first into my dresser.  It must have been quite the commotion because my cousin showed up just about the time my body came to rest between the foot of the bed and the dresser.  I was literally too shocked to cry.  I had a knot on my head from the dresser impact, my finger felt like it was about 3 feet in circumference and a quarter inch long and oddly it felt like a grew a mustache and all of my teeth were loose.

I'm sitting there, shaking like a dog shitting a peach seed and my cousin says, "You stuck your finger in the light socket, didn't you?"  Instead of answering him with a casual yes, I must have said something smart-assed because I was promptly issued an asswhipping!

That is politics and that is voting.  Now I consider myself a political free agent and my wife feels it necessary to give me instructions on difficult matters like when to raise and lower the toilet seat.  Perhaps that is the residual effects of voting... I mean, sticking your finger in a light socket.