no myth

There’s something rotten in the state of America.  Yes, I know America is not a state.  But if you’re complaining about that first sentence, you’re obviously not a Shakespeare fan.

We have become a country of instant gratification.  We’re all guilty of it, yours truly included.  Nothing can ever happen soon enough; if change for the better isn’t here tomorrow, then we’ve got to do something about it.  Like vote everyone out of office.  To these people, I offer this advice – Rome (America) wasn’t built in a day.

Things take time to develop, like a fine wine or a good Scotch.  Can you imagine a distiller saying, “Screw it, I can’t wait anymore”, and selling a 2 year old batch of Scotch?  But that’s exactly where we’re at in this country.

I know I’m going to receive some comments, but Republicans refuse to believe that President Obama can do a good job and they are trying everything they can to tarnish his accomplishments.  Is it possible that they don’t like the idea of a black man succeeding in the ultimate position of power?

Look, some people are ignorant and many will believe what you tell them when they refuse to think for themselves.  Democrats are most certainly guilty of this, too.  Which is why I think the two party system is also largely to blame.  I’m a liberal, but I don’t need the Democratic party to tell me what to do.

We’ll seemingly never elect the right person as long as people vote along party lines and not for who deserves the job.  We have gotten too comfortable as a society and don’t challenge ourselves to try something new.  We tend to live where our parents live, we socialize with people who are similar to us and we tend to believe the same things our parents did.  Which often times leads us to vote as our parents did.

And we’ll never be truly united as a country as long as people buy into the “change is not coming soon enough, let’s try something else” mentality.

Many of my friends are Republicans.  I am not.  But for the most part we can have an intelligent discourse on what we think and why we think it.  And I respect them because they can articulate their opinions and support their opinions.  Too many people just go along because they are upset and don’t know what the answer is.

Well here’s a newsflash.  Most of us don’t know what the answers are.  But to think that wholesale changes are the answer every time something doesn’t happen as soon as we want it to is irresponsible. 

I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again.  Please make informed decisions.  We urge everyone to use their right to vote, but I’m taking it a step further.  If you don’t understand what you’re voting for, then don’t do it.  You’re only adding fuel to the fire.

What does the future hold for America?  I’d be a fool to say I know.  But I am still hopeful because, what’s the alternative?  I won’t get angry, but I am largely disappointed in how quick we are to give up on things.  I am hopeful that one day we can say we live in the United States of America and be able to mean it.