Well here we are finally-weeks away from election 2016. (Thank God) The two candidates are limping in to the final stretch. One candidate is a career capitalistic business man who has gamed the system to work his way to the top of corporate America leveraging tax code loopholes and the illegal immigrants he wants to kick out of this country to build his empire. He's a loose cannon, foul-mouthed and misogynistic-and that's being nice about it. The other candidate is a career politician who has lied and tried to cover up her mistakes for years. She's used the DNC to help eradicate her competition within her party successfully and failed to apologize and own up to her failures as Secretary of State. The bottom line is that regardless of what candidate you support, both of them are far from perfect. Anyone who is watching this campaign is hard-pressed to think of anything that either candidate has proactively accomplished to further our country and to help its citizens. Neither candidate seems to have anything good to say about the other or the citizens of this country. Maligning each other and the supporters of their opposition is the only thing they seem to do well. How did we arrive at this current situation? How did we as a country narrow our selection to these two characters who have so many flaws? Both candidates have called each other's supporters names and slandered them in front of millions around the world on television and other social media outlets. Seriously? Our leaders act like they're two immature high school students cat-fighting over a love interest. Where is our example? Where is our leadership?
The world is on fire. It is the scariest it seems it's ever been. Racism, hatred of other cultures, minorities & law officers show itself on television, social media and in the streets of the United States of America. For the last year and a half this country has gone from a respected world leader to become the laughing stock of the world. How did we let this happen? Better yet how can we fix it?
It seems that political campaigns last way too long. The longer they go, the more irrational it seems the candidates become. The longer the campaign, the less they focus on the issues and the more they focus on attacking each other and other people. The system is flawed. No longer can anyone run for president. You must be rich, famous, wealthy or highly connected by the people who are. It seems that all politicians-Republican or Democrat-make a career out of it and very rarely do they give back anything except false promises and only when they need the People's vote again. For all of these reasons and many more specifically, I believe that Congress, Supreme Court Justices and all branches of elected officials in the government should have term limits. Whatever happened to the civil servant? A career should not be made out of running for office when people's public trust is placed in that position. We need campaign reform. If you want to run for office, there should be a clear, concise structure within which the average person could do so. This should involve no campaign contributions from from foreign countries or entities, and would also limit the amount of money that could be used by candidate during their election process. The length of the election process itself also should be limited. This country does not need a year and a half long presidential poo-flinging show to interrupt the sitting president's decisions and allow people to grandstand against him, malign him and call him names by attacking him on the campaign trail. This country has enough problems without our future leaders slandering each other, calling each other names and insulting the citizens of the United States because they support another candidate. The candidates should receive a certain amount of money equally and a certain amount of time to spend it (ie. 6 months) then the people will decide by a vote as it was intended. These things seem like very difficult things to get done and laws would need to be passed to get these things accomplished. If we as a people are angered enough, we will organize and vote for elected officials who reflect our beliefs instead of sitting at home railing our opinions to the masses on social media.
Let's talk about what is really important-We The People. Sadly, as I've seen our two candidates slander each other and United States citizens on national television, I've seen so many of us turn to do the same to each other. Friends, family and others have severed relationships over differences in political opinions. Sadly, we can no longer follow the example of our political leaders who constantly attack each other and the people of this country. We all need to realize that despite what others are doing around us, we are all responsible for our own character in the end. Sitting behind a computer screen anonymously attacking strangers on the internet for their political or religious beliefs by bullying them, calling them names and inciting others to do so is despicable to do to another human being-let alone a fellow citizen of these Not-So-United States. Spouting hatred and contempt toward someone voting for a candidate other than our choice is simply un-American. As a strong proponent of free speech, I believe people have the right to criticize each other's ideas, however to personally attack an entire group of people supporting a candidate for president is less than respectable to ourselves and the country. The level of internet trolling and bullying due to someone's political & religious beliefs has skyrocketed over the past few elections in this country. I'm all for a good, healthy political debate of ideas, but when we personally attack a fellow citizen and human being, we have turned to a darkness that is very difficult to escape. Who are we? What are we teaching our children-let alone the rest of the world? Are we an example of light, love and freedom shining as a beacon in the darkness of this world, or are we adding to the very evil we claim to fight against? Regardless of who you'll vote for, you should vote-it's our civic duty. It's also our duty as United States citizens to treat fellow Americans and all people with love and kindness as human beings no matter their color, culture, religion or other differences. Let's debate the issues instead of attacking the person. Let's agree to disagree and treat each other with love and respect as we do it. Let's come together again at the UNITED States and be the example our forefathers envisioned for our children and the rest of the world. I believe in us. No matter who gets elected this November, let's live our lives the best we can helping and loving each other and those in our communities.
'...we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.' -Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, Thursday, November 19, 1863.