krues8dr

I posted this on my page, but I thought I'd ditto it here...

I have a lot to say here. most of you are going to want to skim past most of this. Don't.


The dust is settling, and the winner has emerged. I can't say I'm particularly pleased or surprised at the outcome.

First things first, all of you who are even jokingly talking about fleeing the country should go read prosicated's recent post (http://www.livejournal.com/users/prosicated/269038.html).

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'm calling a mandate for action. And no one's going to like it.


To the Democrats, I charge you with the duty of finding out why you've become so out of touch with the working class in this country. Where did all the Reagan Democrats go? Why is the Democratic Party associated with Atheism? Why do farmers and plant workers think that Democrats are unable to secure jobs, healthcare, and the economy?

Moreover, I charge you with a much more difficult task: to support your president. I don't like Dubya. I never will trust him. But he's the person the majority has picked to lead our country. America is divided right now, and the conservatives are quickly overcoming the liberals. And this is because both sides are working very hard to distance themselves from the other. America needs to come together to survive. If anyone's ideals can be left in tact, we need to get away from partisan voting on larger issues, and focus on the center where everyone agrees. If people spend more time working for a better education system, they won't be so worried about gay marriage bans. Which do you think has the greater impact on society as a whole? Is it not ignorance that we're all trying to fight?


To the Republicans also goes a difficult task. Our president is not a conservative, he's not a true Republican. Our president has carried the popular vote on conservative moral issues, but moral issues are the responsability of the states, not the national government. Our president is not even vaguely conservative on the key national issues, such as foreign policy and government spending. I hereby charge you to get back to the roots of the party - to enforce our national lawmakers into respecting the ideals of the party. No one is going to take your guns away, so just calm down for a minute and realise that there are bigger things than personal issues at stake! Medicare and Social Security are in great peril! I don't care what they're telling you; look at the numbers! Military spending is important, but not at the expense of all other programs.


To the Other Parties, you have the greatest job to do. The reform of the electoral system in this country lies in your hands. The current system is designed to make your vote count against you; alternate voting methods, in particular Instant Runoff Voting, are the only chance for a third party candidate in many parts of this country. Your ties to the grassroots movements at the local level gives you a lot more power than the bigger parties. Use it! We need more Independant candidates on our town councils, school boards, sheriff's offices - everywhere that people are effected on a local level. Make people less afraid of the Greens, even the Socialists. Have bake sales and school fund drives! Get involved with charities! Hell, everyone should be doing these things.


Lastly, I have words for those who didn't vote: What's your fucking problem? I can only assume that you're intelligent enough to make your own decisions, since you've decided not to take it upon yourself to vote. So I have the firm belief that you're intelligent enough to pick up a few books on political science, or even read a fucking article on the interweb, that will explain to you just how important voting is. Here's my take on it: You're not an island. Every day, every minute of every day, other human beings are effected by your very existance. Every time you use your computer, pay your phone bill, watch television, play video games - all of these things require other people for your personal use. The food you eat, the water you drink, the electricity you use - all the result of other people.

And you assholes with your "I hate the world" LJ posts - fuck you too! The odds are pretty good that someone *bought you* that computer you're using there, chief. I don't care if you love your brother or not, but get off your ass and do something for another person, you self-centered little bitches. Until you do, you're a waste of breath.


Speaking of... *pause, breathe* Now, that being all said... let's get back to the important things. Let's remember that the national election happens only every four years, but there are things you can be doing every day to impact the world around you. You want your life to be enriched? Help out with some cause that you care about. To you console-jockeys out there: contributing to open source projects is nice and all that, but you're not actually putting a roof over anyone's head; you're only adding to the convenience of others just like yourself. I think that you'll find, much like I did, that picking up a goddamn hammer for Habitat is just as fulfilling as, if not much more than, a few rounds of Halo or Counterstrike.

Before I elicit a flamewar, here, let me tell you where I'm coming from. I'm a person who didn't vote until four years ago. I could have cared less about politics or the world I was in. But I wasn't happy, and I knew that buying more toys wasn't going to help me be happy. Since then, I've worked with Habitat, Legal Aid, the PVCC Service Learning organization, and other charity-related groups and nonprofits. I served a year on the Democratic Nomination Committee for Charlottesville (as one of the youngest members - the average age is around 55), and have done work for numerous campaigns. Anyone who knows me knows that I work *alot*. Somehow, I still find time to help out with things that actually matter.

There's always something you can do. If the world sucks, it's your fault; fix it.