For the Republic

Found an interesting article on Shoutwire.com, a great place to spend some time. Here's a link. But for the general rundown, the article says that our political system is broken for two reasons: people divide themselves needlessly into cookie-cutter definitions that they let define each other, and that our political system has boiled down to a bunch of old, rich guys who choose between themselves who should have political offices.

While i agree with some of the premises set forth by the article, some things deserve a second perspective.

For starters, the way we label people HAS gotten out of control. Most political analysts tend to call everyone liberals or conservatives, just for convenience. But what does it really mean to be conservative, to be liberal? As far as ACTUAL definitions go, being liberal and conservative is a difference in ability to accept new ideas and beliefs. We, however, have forced those words to correspond with particular belief systems, then just thrown everyone into one of those camps without real thought into the reprecussions of such a ridiculous action. Now, when asked what someone's political beliefs are, instead of reciting a few things he/she thinks, that person just says "I'm a conservative" or "I'm a democrat". What does that even mean? Considering how often proffesional politicians stray from their party's stances, it really has no purpose except to give someone a broad, misunderstood representation of what you may or may no believe. When Tyler Durden said, "You are not your fucking khakis" what he was telling the world is that we shouldn't define ourselves, because definition brings inherent restrictions and limits your potential. There isn't a single person on EARTH who completely agrees with every prototypical liberal view, so NOBODY meets the definition correctly. Same with democrat and republican; it's just a way to lump everyone into a few, easy-to-understand groups. It's ridiculous, because this method has lead to partisan politics, where people will vote against their beliefs and in favor of whatever party strategy they are using, leading the parties themselves to become more important than the rational, individual-based debates that occured back when this nation was in its political prime.

The other point the article makes, about a bunch of rich, old, "white" guys deciding amongst themselves who should attain political office is also true, but blame can't lie soley with them.Yes, running for office takes a lot of money, so obviously rich people have an advantage there. They also have some connections, due to, for example, their ability to attend Ivy-League schools and join "Secret Societies", thus hooking themselves up for life. But no matter how rich, how well-connected someone is, that only gets you so far; the qualities we look for in politicians isn't money and connections, it's their opinions and their passion, their intelligence and work ethic. Now, back during the Revolution and Civil War, those individuals were fighting for freedom, and trying to make our country better and safer for all people. So naturally, they eventually went into politics.

But where are those people now?

In the private sector, trying to make a lot of money. They don't give a shit about the political system unless it helps them somehow. All the brilliance of the past dozen generations is too busy trying to make a buck to protect and serve the people who are the backbone of this nation; hell, of this world. Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, those were geniuses who cared about ALL Americans, not just their own pocketbook. Now, however, all our Jeffersons are out trying to make Benjamins. And where has that lead us? To the only place it could have, our current political state; a country led by a C+ student and a bunch of yes-men who sell their votes and manipulate the system for everything it is worth, at the expense of the blood and sweat of the noble, who work 9-5 hard-labor jobs, or fight overseas, just to put food on the table and hope their children have a better future than they do. They then have to try to decide which rich, Ivy-Leaguer represents THEM best. It's absurd. We need a resurgence of public service over the next few generations, or this country will crumble under the very weight of our corruption and greed. The most well-known presidential quote is, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Not, "Ask how much money you can make ignoring the death-cries of your country as it slowly rots away from the inside." We need some brilliant, charismatic, CARING individuals to step away from their corporate offices and onto the ballot soon, or our future as a country is to be a repeat of our grandfathers, the Romans. We took their governmental system, and now we may follow them straight into the history books.