Is Everything Fixed?

Did anyone see this article? Did we solve all the world’s problems and are now moving on to little things and no one told me?

Either this is a sign our world is now perfect or someone has too much time on their hands and feels like using their position to push forth their own agenda instead of what is good for everyone.

Mind you, I happen to agree with the politician in this story. I think those things are moronic, stupid, tasteless and ugly. But if you wish to put them on your vehicle, it’s still a personal choice. I like it when idiots advertise. It helps me know where they’re at so I can avoid them.

And since when did it become the job of government to legislate personal choice and become an arbiter of good taste? Pay no attention to legislation regarding smoking, abortion, same sex marriage or gun control when it comes to asking when the government took the job of legislating personal choice.

All this really shows is another example of legislators doing stupid things to waste time and tax payer money. It’s emblematic of overall government waste. Seriously, we really need to demand accountability from our politicians. We gave them the job, we can take it away. Our own constitution states that if government is no longer working, we should tear it down and start again. I doubt that would work at this point, at least in a peaceful and orderly manner. It would cause too much chaos and potential world catastrophe.

But I wonder, why do we not care more? I think of this question when looking at our current crop of presidential candidates. We should be asking those seeking our nation’s highest office the tough questions, such as…

… Why have none of you been doing the job you have been elected to do seriously for over a year and instead have been spending your time glad handing to get picked for another job. Why should we take you seriously when you do not take your own responsibilities seriously?

What are you going to do to solve real problems? And we want serious answers, not generalizations, pretty prose and rhetoric?

Half the world hates us, the other half pretends they don’t’ know us. What about that?

What about poverty in this country?

What about the wrong people being taxed to death while big corporations can get away with setting up shell companies to skirt taxation?

What about the ridiculous cost of homes, which no one can afford?

And on that note, what about the foolishness of people and financial institutions who have screwed the home market, and the economy, and now the rest of us, who have no homes or ability to purchase them, have to pay? I know you cannot legislate common sense, but how do you handle this?

Why did it take 10 years to raise minimum wage, and even then it was minor and on a step up program that by the time it really makes a difference, the cost of living will have risen above current standards to the point where it will make the rate hike moot?

What about the homeless?

What about violence in our streets and neighborhoods?

What about the rapidly sinking economy and the tanking value of the dollar worldwide?

What about the skyrocketing cost of fuel with no end in sight?

Why is there continued feet dragging on alternative fuels and power alternatives. Where are the fuel cells and hydrogen power solutions we keep hearing? Why do you allow Detroit to run roughshod over you instead of enacting real legislation regarding miles per gallon standards?

I do not expect every politician to have a sound answer to every problem. That’s impossible. But I would like to hear sound plans toward real answers. I would like to hear reasonable, logical thought toward realistic suggestions and solutions that we can do, as a government and as a populace.

People are tired and apathetic of the same old thing. They know if they take time to ask, they’ll be put to sleep by the droning and hot air spewed by those in charge. We want real solutions and suggestions, not rhetoric, not double speak, and do not tell us what you think we want to hear. Be honest and direct. People want real change, something with meat and heft to it. Not more nonsense.

I have come to a conclusion that the election process starts so early not because it’s a race between multiple candidates, but a war of attrition between candidates and the constituents. By the time the election rolls around, people pick anyone just to make it all go away.

But we cannot afford to take that kind of attitude anymore. We need to do more ourselves. We cannot wait around for someone on a white horse to ride up and save the day. We have to do it, much like those who came before us.

The greatest generation is called that because they did not question, or whine, or martyr themselves for ridiculous reasons. They just did what needed to be done, simple as that. The country, and the world, needed their help, and they responded. Many suffered, many for years afterwards, but none doubted what they did was the right thing. You never heard them complain about it, because work needed to done, so they did it and moved on.

Why cannot we, as a society, be like that now? Why cannot we be one as a cause?

We need to find that spirit to fix the problems of our world and our society. And the best way to start is to begin with the problems at home. And by home I do not mean our country as a whole, no, I mean just in our own homes, streets, communities, neighborhoods, towns and cities. No one needs to lift mountains, merely mole hills.

Start small, make small changes around us. Little things like picking up trash, visiting a shut in, giving of time or money to a cause, making a walk, do something. Little things like these will add up to big things. An avalanche starts with one snowflake.

The only thing we have to do in this life is dying. Everything before that is our own choice. If we choose to sit, complain, rot and allow others to take advantage of us or rule our life, then that is our choice. But we should strive for something more. Not for money or fame or personal glory, things which mean little and disappear as fast as they are granted. But we should strive for the greater good in our communities and our world. To make things better for those who come after us, and to honor those who did the same before us. We need to step up, be counted, and say I want a better world, and then pick up a shovel and get to work.

I know it’s tough to do. Most of us spend our time trying to keep our heads above water and out of the poorhouse. And trying to find time or energy to make a positive impact seems almost Herculean. But the only way things will get better is if we all make an effort, no matter how small. Otherwise, all anyone will remember of us is reality television and empty energy drink cans.