What if we really cared?

We are a political society. Seems politics permeate the airwaves, the TV, social discussions, and newspapers. The problem is, what is the truth? Politics by nature have become a "who can spin the best" type of contest. We are a fickle nation who elects our representatives based upon looks and presentation. You could make a beautiful looking dinner out of rice cakes, food dye and tofu but would it taste good? That's how it is with politics. Who has the best presentation, the best line, the best haircut and outfit? How many people actually take time to look into the beliefs and history of the person they elect? If it's not an easy to read, short and concise quote then we haven't the time to read it. The future ramifications of our votes are seldom considered. It's "what can you do for me and my social class" type of mentality that chips away at the foundation of the country. Politicians don't want to make the hard decisions to solve the real issues. They want to position themselves to reap the benefits of stagnation and obfuscation, never really taking a definitive stance. To do so would be political suicide. The problem isn't that we have no politicians willing to stand up and do what is right, the problem is they are attacked by the larger core of politicians who fear a straightforward honest member of their elitist group. They fear that it would remove the wool from the populations' eyes and allow them to see that they are drunk on the power and prestige granted them by the people of this country. Before long we will have no recourse to fix this utterly broken government. The complacency of the American people will allow those in power to assert that power with no control. We keep electing people who feel it is their right to be in office, not their privilege. When politics becomes a club, it's time to change ownership of that club. We as the voting public need to perform a leveraged buyout of Congress and let them know who they really work for. We should elevate those few congressmen and congresswomen who have actually placed the good of the country above the good of the chosen few. We need to reduce entitlements, balance the budget, force all legislation to be open and published before voted upon, eliminate pork barrel spending (better yet make it illegal), create term limits, fix the tax code, and get social security and medicare fixed and funded. We need to improve our intelligence gathering, make our military more efficient and better equiped, and reinvest in the education of our youth. There's a lot of talk about this stuff (except social security and medicare) but not much action. It's our own fault though. We keep electing the same ol' people. We've taken the easy path to our own destruction.
Unless we start taking a real interest in the future of our politics we all may find we've walked half way through a train tunnel only to find we can't out run the locomotive heading our way.

Where are the adults?

Every day there's a new article or story about children who are killed or die as a result of the adults consigned to care for them. The stories range from gang shootings where a stray bullet finds it's way into a house where a small child is sleeping to foster parents who commit murder through neglect or abuse. While I realize that the percentages of these events are small when compared to the number of kids in foster care or living in less than safe neighborhoods, I wonder what kind of people do these things? Evil does exist. When I read these stories I can't help to want to rush home from work and just hold my kids. How can parents do these things to children? How are we to set examples for the children when we as adults are unable to control our own behavior? Parenting is a job that makes your hair go gray, put wrinkles under your eyes, and caused paranoia. It's not a job for the weak. Making sure your kids are safe is job one, two and three. We live in a world rich in adventure and just as rich in risk. Taking the time to hold your kids is time well spent. I remember that every time I get home exhausted from work and my 3 and 5 year olds run to me wanting to play a game or show me something they made. Somehow my tiredness is relegated to the back of my head and I muster any amount of energy to spend that time making sure they know that Daddy wants to see their latest masterpiece. Sometimes I luck out and they just want to fall asleep in my bed as I watch TV and snuggle with them. Last night I came home to find them in bed with my wife. Sara was asleep but Connor was awake. I lay down next to him and he put his arm around me and snuggled close. He missed me. Soon he was fast asleep and I carried both kids to their beds. It's a nightly routine for us. Soon enough they'll want to fall asleep in their own beds, but last night we snuggled knowing that love fills our lives. It's not hard to know what's important, but sometimes it is hard to remember it. Thankfully, I've got 2 kids and a wife who help me remember.

Enough is Enough

I watched "Lord of War" last night. The movie starring Nicholas Cage where he is an arms dealer with a knack for trafficing illegal arms to impoverished nations. The story at the end states it is based upon actual events which means something happened similar to what the movie portrays but of course was edited to meet movie standards of entertainment.
None the less I lay awake last night thinking about all the impoverished nations in Africa and the arms dealers who traffic their merchandise to them all for the sake of profit. The natural progression of thought then went to Darfur and the families who are caught in a war between government and rebel forces. The forces kidnap children to fight in their war. One of the statements made in the movie by an evil dictator rang true. He said (paraphrase) that a bullet shot by a 10 year old child can still kill as well as a bullet shot by a 40 year old man. What kind of human would put a gun in the hands of a child and then tell him to go kill with it? Well, the word that I kept hearing in my mind was ENOUGH! Enough of the UN and it's "Super Powers" countries who refuse to do anything substantial to end the conflicts in places where their leaders act like spoiled children and get away with it. ENOUGH talk of sending in a "Peace Keeping force" to stop the carnage. ENOUGH talk, political posturing, diplomatic stagnation, and back room dealings that do not do anything. It's time the countries of the world who are supposed to be leading by example to say ENOUGH. Let's go kick some gun toting, genocidal, immature, power hungry, evil dictator ass! What are we afraid of? If Britain, France, America, Spain, Australia, and any other freedom loving nation decided to send in a battalion or two of well armed, well supplied and well supported military personnel with instructions to stop the armed conflict, protect the unarmed, and destroy any threatening force it meets, do you think the genocide would last for more than 1 month? Where is the morality? Where is the backbone to stand up for what is right? Do you think this initiative would be condemned by other nations except for the ones that are committing this evil? For once I'd like to see the countries that are supposed to be leaders in this world stand up and do what is morally right, not politically prudent. The UN is a worthless entity. It is merely a forum for countries to play tug-a-war with no results. It a money laundering business disguised as a political assembly of nations. How could it gain credibility again? Organize and deploy a multinational force to stop the killing. What do we have to lose? I don't know, but I do know we have an opportunity to save. Save the men, women and children of a country that doesn't care for it's own.