Something to think about for those who still vote.

With the upcoming elections and the usual lies of the politicians to get elected..
Ask yourselves - what have your politicians actually done for you ? And no campaign lies and photo ops do not count. When was the last time a politician actually got their hand dirty and did some real work that helped the people they are supposed to represent.
How many of your politicians actually take time to get to know you the people ? Again press conferences and pr events do not count.
How many of your politicians truly care about you the people and your wellbeing ?
Truth is NONE of them give a rats arse about the people theyre supposed to represent and not a damn thing will change after the elections.

reply to post by Expat888

When was the last time a politician actually got their hand dirty and did some real work that helped the people they are supposed to represent.

I see dirty hands and real work trying to help his constituents from Ron Paul all the time. It's not his fault that the bulk of congress doesn't act accordingly to allow real change - but he tries.

And he DID cure my apathy as well as give me hope I CAN believe in!

How many of your politicians actually take time to get to know you the people ? Again press conferences and pr events do not count.

Well, Ron Paul delivered about 4000 of his own constituents (I'm sure at least SOME of them were in his district, anyway...), and from Dr. No in Texas Monthly's October 2001 edition (per wikipedia):

Paul also spends extra time in the district to compensate for "violat[ing] almost every rule of political survival you can think of," traveling over 300 miles (480 km) daily to attend civic ceremonies for veterans, graduates, and Boy Scouts, often accompanied by his grandchildren. His staff helps senior citizens obtain free or low-cost prescription drugs through a little-known drug company program; procures lost or unreceived medals for war veterans, holding dozens of medal ceremonies annually; is known for its effectiveness in tracking down Social Security checks; and sends out birthday and condolence cards.

How many of your politicians truly care about you the people and your wellbeing ?

I know ONE who seems two. Well, more than that - I disagree with more of his views than I do with Paul, but I live Kucinich, Nader, Gravel, and a few others.

Truth is NONE of them give a rats arse about the people theyre supposed to represent and not a damn thing will change after the elections.

I disagree with the first bit, and certainly hope you're wrong about the last. We can't take much more of this.

reply to post by Expat888


Well, that depends. Are we talking on a local, state, or national level? I personally now quite a few local and even state representatives who 'get their hands dirty' on several issues.

The big lie, to me, is the one that pretends that voting is the end-all-be-all for Democracy. But that hardly means one shouldnt do it. It just means it is the LAST thing we should do, after learning doing, organizing, etc.

Sure, if you only look at a national Presidential election between the D's and R's it can appear pointless. But elections are far more than that one office, between those two parties, and encouraging people ot not be active in the system seems counter productive, imo.

I'm gonna throw this out there from a Canadian perspective. Have you ever thought that maybe your political system is broken and its not the people? When I was younger, I used to thing the US political system was brilliant (on paper at least). But, all I see now are self serving "bring home the bacon" sleezeballs that really don't care about your country or the long term effects of their actions. It seems there are too many special interest groups, lobbyist, tabloids ect for anyone to do a decent job. The get assimilated (like Star Trek characters by the Borg).

You need to:
a) curtail lobbyist influence
b) ban Drug companies from advertising
c) Limit liability claims in your medical system
d) Limit terms for Senators and Congress to two terms max
e) Cut back your military by 30% and stop trying to run the world
f) Force the government to balance the budget unless you have catastrophic conditions
g) Review all programs and spending every 5 years
h) Force Wash. to actually fund your Social Security instead of writing IOU's

Just some thoughts. Its not the people...it's the system they are introduced to. They are no different than Commies in Russia in the past. They are giving in and getting "assimilated."

I ink those who say voting is a waste of time likely have only a superficial understanding of national politics, and have likely never even paid attention to local elections or politicians or issues.

You have FAR more power at the local level than at the federal level.

Voting:

If you don't, someone else will!

Nice OP! Gets people thinking.

I'm not even American and I can see that at least Ron Paul meets personally with people often, especially young people. I guess you could say he "got his hands dirty" delivering all those babies too.

You're right though, it's very very rare. Politics is full to the brim with ex-lawyers and business leaders (some even working side by side...)

I've only voted in a few elections here (young) and I don't think I'll bother next time. And we only have a very slightly better system than America (a few more parties, bit more oversight). I can't imagine yoyoing between only 2 parties each year.