The Flip Flop Lifestyle

I did not vote.  Apparently, this offends many people.  The reaction I get when I told people that I was not planning on voting or still get when I told them that I did not in fact cast a vote, is astounding.  So to all of you who have accosted me in the last 2 to 3 months and so obtrusively informed that it is my DUTY to vote no matter what I thought of the candidates, I say this…  Voting is one of the most precious rights that we have in this country.  Period.  Equally as important is our right to abstain from voting if we so choose - that is part of what makes the freedom that we enjoy in this country so wonderful.  Freedom to choose.

Look morons… my decision to not vote does not mean I don’t love my country.  It does not mean that I do not cherish the freedom that all of us enjoy on a daily basis.  It does not mean I am not patriotic.  I volunteered to serve in our country’s armed forces and did my time proudly, willing to sacrifice my life if need be in service of our great country.  How many of you that chose to verbally chastise my decision can say that? Not many…  so, take your passive, easy way to make yourself feel like you contributed, along with with your happy, shiny “I Voted” sticker and shove them both up your ass.

I am so tired of people and the bleating sheep, herd mentality that is so pervasive in this country.  Yes, many more people came out to vote for this election - that would be great if if any of them were actually informed about the issues or bothered to educate themselves on the candidates.  Ask around to people who voted for Obama - pretty much the most in depth and educated reason you will hear is “it’s tme for a change!”  Wow.  Way to put some thought in to it!  Pry a little further in to their reasoning and over 90% of the time that will be the extent of it.

Also, don’t kid yourself - Bush is not solely responsible for the crashing economy.  It’s great to have a scapegoat and have somebody convenient to pin it on but the fact of the matter is that there are many different factors that have contributed to the current state of the global economy.  The housing market??  I get a laugh out of people blaming the banks for giving bad loans to people.  Wake up retards - it is up to the individual adult to sign their name to a loan and completely up to the person signing their name to understand the terms of what they are getting into.  If you are one of those people, may I suggest that you do your due diligence prior to signing the paperwork next time?  People simply don’t want to accept responsibility for their actions.   Everybody needs to stop the incessant whining and finger pointing and redirect that effort to better their own situation.  Stop looking to the government bail you out and instead start looking for way to bail yourself out.  The American spirit does not involve sitting on your ass and hoping somebody else does something.

I refused to vote simply because I thought both candidates were dangerous to have as leaders for our country.  It’s as simple as that - I thought both of them potentially dangerous to our great nation.  I can’t believe that those are the two best that the parties could come up with.  Obama’s track record in the Senate is so extreme left it’s borderline ridiculous.  Going strictly by his record so far, I would hesitate to label him a Democrat - I think Socialist would be much more accurate.

McCain is a dinosaur and appears pathetically out of touch with what is actually going on in this country.  He is erratic, hot headed and has voted consistantly in ways that benefit the very wealthy and not the middle class.   And Palin as a running mate??  I really don’t think that he could have found anyone anywhere who is more woefully unprepared to lead our country.  With the smart money betting he will die sometime in the next four years, the reality of Palin becoming our Commander-in-Chief is a scary thought indeed, which brings up the question- did he choose her as the best possible choice for our country, or as gimmick to try and win some votes?

Both of the choices that were available to us have their faults.  Personally, I don’t care how anyone voted.  I question their reasons for voting the way they did.  Just because McCain was in a POW camp does not mean he would be right to lead the country.  Just because Obama is black and that would be a milestone for the civil rights movement does not mean he would be a good leader.  Voting for someone just because they are black is just as racist and idiotic as NOT voting for someone just because they are black.

Obama won the election purely on the power of his charisma and his incredibly polished public speaking skills.  The man is elequent, poised and genuinely likeable.  He overcame incredible obstacles and ran an almost flawless campaign.  Being under such intense national and international scrutiny for the past 24 months has to have been a learning experience of the highest order.  I truly hope that the education he has received has enlightened him to the fact that being to far to the left or right is not good for the whole of the nation.

He is our president - voted in by the people (no matter what their thought process) and I have very high hopes for him.  He is a brilliant and driven individual and can accomplish good things for our nation if he uses a little common sense.  The distribution of wealth and other ideas that he has championed are completely ridiculous, unless of course you are a pathetic loser looking to freeload on the hard work of others.  Turning the United States of America in to the Land of Handouts will only weaken us as a nation at a time when we need to be strong and competitive in a cut-throat global economy.

This could be a time of great triumph or it could be one of our worst disasters as a nation.  Only time will tell.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Personal Musings, The Journey . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.