Politics Is Very Discouraging

Although I started my blog with the intention of staying on track writing about how much fun and how lucky I am to have grown up as one of the first baby boomers there are times when events cause me to side step for a moment.  A few months back I wrote a story about how I would not vote for anyone who refused to raise taxes.  There is another one on the importance of getting away from of our dependence on fossil fuels.  This morning the the sad state of our political affairs makes it difficult to write about anything else.

Having grown up in the fifties and sixties, dysfunctional as my family was, my parents taught us rules to live by that everyone seems to have forgotten. My brothers and I all had paper routes early in our teenage years so we learned the value of work and that if you wanted something you had to work for it.  My parent's bought us our first cars, usually one at least ten years old, but it was our job to keep them running. Auto mechanics became an important thing to learn even for a girl.

Neither of my parents were prejudice against other races or religions.  I was raised in the Episcopal church but being curious one summer when I was eleven or twelve I read thirty nine books on all the religions of the world.  Between those books and my dear Uncle Tom I learned that humans have a need to believe in a higher power for rules to live by.  It all boils down to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". As long as you live by that rule it does not matter what religion you follow.

The town I grew up in had a large black population.  Even with living through the era of the Civil Rights Act and all the riots that followed I don't remember ever even thinking anyone of a different color was any different from myself.  I can remember being totally bewildered by some of my college friends from the deep south and their views on integration.  I am bewildered today by the racial comments against not only blacks but about any person of another nationality or religion.

It is rather interesting that I learned about homosexuality when I was eighteen, in a time when no one spoke about it.  There was a nice family that lived in my neighborhood that I threw newspapers to.  They had two darling little girls that became my very first students in swimming lessons.  I heard some rumors about the family and my parents explained their lifestyle to me.  They were nice people, they were good to me so what was the big deal.  In my forties I had the opportunity to skate in an ice show for five years with many people who had a lifestyle different than mine.  Whether I liked them or not was based on their friendship and personality, not their sexual orientation.

My parents did not own guns or hunt animals.  My mother bought my Dad stupid things like a bow and then a twelve gauge shotgun thinking he needed a hobby.  Neither were ever used.  When I was in college I accepted a date with a guy who had a cool Porsche to go rabbit hunting in the snow.  When "Thumper" hopped out in front of us I made so much noise he quickly vanished.  So did the date.  I have never owned a gun because in my heart I know I could never shoot an animal and even at the threat of my life, another human being. I guess it is okay to own guns but have never understood shooting an animal and certainly not another human being.  This is coming from someone who lived in some of the largest cities as a single parent, including Detroit, without a gun and who generally did not lock doors or windows.

One of the most memorable lessons I learned occurred when I was in the second grade.  A neighbor boy, good friend of mine, and I  were riding our bikes home from school one day and somehow my bike fell into his.  The crash resulted in damage to my bike and I went home and told my Mother it was all his fault.  She went to the principle of the school, a meeting of everyone involved took place in the principle's office and I had to tell the truth that it really was my fault.  I received a spanking at school, a spanking at home and had to go apologize to the boy and his mother. That was my lesson in why you should not lie. There are always consequences when you do something wrong and that was one of the best lessons to learn.

Somehow I never understood the Women' Movement.  Sure I think that every one should have equal rights and equal pay but I can't tell you how much I enjoyed being a stay at home Mom.  I always had a home-based little business that allowed me to participate in the activities of my two boys. It was pure heaven to get to go on school field trips, band trips for long weekends and drag races all over the country. I never had to worry about the children being sick as I could stay home and give them extra attention that they needed. That to me was Women's Lib and there was enough time for a career when they got older.

When my youngest son was fourteen we moved to a new city.  He had braces on his teeth and I found one of the best orthodontists in the area to take him to. When he was examined the orthodontist said that he really needed his lower jaw lengthened by an oral surgeon to correct his overbite.  We went to the recommended oral surgeon and were deciding whether to proceed with the surgery or not when one evening on the local news there was a story about the oral surgeon we had been to see.  He had been arrested for faking prescriptions for opiates for himself. They did not take his license to practice away but only gave him three hundred hours of community service.

When returning to the orthodontist I questioned him about the oral surgeon.  How could I in good faith have my son go thru a surgery performed by someone hooked on drugs?  Wasn't that teaching my son that it was okay to do drugs at a time in his young life you want to keep him from being involved with drugs?  The orthodontist was furious that I would question him on his recommendation.  He would not recommend another oral surgeon and we had the braces removed.

Being human I have fallen down in some of the principles I learned through life from time to time.  But I own up to the mistakes I make and always know that I create whatever situation I get myself into. I raised my children to live by the same standards that I grew up with and am very proud of the adults they have become.

So, how does the current political situation fit into the basic principles I was raised by and the things I believe.  Sorry to say that it doesn't.  
There is no presumptive nominee for President of the United States that I can in good conscience vote for.  In past elections I have made some stupid decision to vote for the lesser of two evils, voted for some third party off-the -wall candidate or stayed home and not voted at all. It seems like the candidates that I thought were honest and trustworthy that I voted for never won.  That says to me that something is wrong with this system.

The sad part is that WE, the people, have created this situation.  We have fallen into a habit of voting for candidates that perhaps have one platform we like and disregard anything else about them.  Maybe we liked the fact that they were rich and powerful overlooking how many lives they ruined to get there.  Then there was the thought that it was time for a person of color or a woman, maybe that was just what the country needs.  Maybe we really believed that they could give us all that they promised when they actually were only after more power and greed for themselves.  Maybe we were so die hard about whatever political party we were affiliated with that voting for their candidate was the only way to vote even though the party candidate was not someone we could trust and believe in.  Maybe this is the time to stop thinking every thing will work out.

This year when I go to the polls I will leave the little boxes for President empty.  I look at it from the aspect that no one running for President fits my code of morality, will not try to enact the things this country needs and is not trustworthy enough for my vote.  I will vote for down-ballot candidates that I believe are honest, trustworthy, stand up for what they believe in and are really going to govern my city, my state and my country for the people, not themselves or for the big business that supports them. At least maybe that is a start on getting this country back to being a country of the people, by the people and for the people.

Your comments are always welcome.  If you want to keep reading my saga throughlife there is a little box in my profile where you can add your email address.  It may add a little humor or insught into your day and you may realize that the path through life may not always be easy but it sure can be educational and fun.