To begin with, I should let you know that I consider myself an Independent, or as I used to call it, a Democrat with Republican tendencies. What does this mean? Well it means that I don't believe in big government and I certainly don't believe that our taxes should benefit programs that either don't work or are so bureaucratic that nothing ever gets done. I believe that if you accept welfare or food stamps, you should be obligated to work in some type of volunteer capacity for the many needs of people that cannot help themselves due either to a particular handicap or mental disorder. I believe that each government agency, whether federal, state or local should be held accountable to "success" measures like most private companies are. Basically, they should prove that they are having success in their chosen field of endeavor through customer feedback and choices. I feel that teachers should be held accountable in the same way, by holding them to a standard of success in the children they are given to educate.
The political climate in this country is the worst I believe I have ever seen, with the strict polarization across party lines and the policy of politics so many of our elected officials continue to represent in the face of stark opposition from the right and the left. At the end of the day, it must be nice to be an elected official, because they all do a lot to remain in power. Yet, while so many are squabbling about the latest gaff or poll, our country continues to deteriorate, both physically and mentally. Our infrastructure is so outdated, we teeter on the edge of a third world country in many counties across the US. Crumbling bridges, decades old transportation systems, inadequate power grids are just a drop in the bucket of the many problems that exist in our country. This is to say nothing of the failing mental capacity of our population.
Like many people, many of our senators and congressmen and women fail to understand the big picture and live only for their political lives today. Beholden to their large lobbyists and campaign contributors, they make decisions that are based upon what will help them win the next election rather than what will help our children achieve the education they will require to be prepared for the next century. If I had an analogy, it would be like that kid you knew in school that had the cool looking car that was always breaking down. It had a gleaming paint job and nice aluminum wheels, but he never changed the oil or bothered to work on the things that are not always glamorous, but always necessary.
Unfortunately, we are creating our own self fulfilling prophecy. As the population of our country becomes increasingly ignorant due to lack of appropriate education and self examination, it becomes increasingly easy for our politicians to lie to them. To tell them tales and spin events, knowing that most people do not have the capacity to discern what is truth and what is fabrication.We would rather place an earbud in our ear, close our eyes, and pretend the Matrix truly exists. Rather than arming ourselves with headphones that will make use of technology to teach us more, we hopelessly drown ourselves in uninspiring reality TV shows, continually wasting our lives watching the wasted lives and drama of others, never knowing we are contributing to our own eventual demise.
If we do not do what is needed to stay in the race for the education of our populous, we will surely perish. It is said that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. We don't have to go far back to understand that we are on the road toward a country that will one day be run by a dictator, and our population will all gleefully and ignorantly cheer to the end of democracy.
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