Red vs. Blue

     I turned 18 in January 2004.  Later that year in November I decided not to vote in the national and state elections.  I was, at that time, very disenchanted with our government and, in particular, our two party system.  That’s not to say that I don’t still have that same sentiment, just at the time I was at the point where I saw no hope in our government at all.  I have since educated myself in politics.  I hope that by the time the next elections come by I will be educated enough to vote, though I am extremely disappointed in my choices for my state’s next governor.  Lately, I have taken a more in-depth interest in the inner workings of our government and the representation of myself and my fellow Americans through a little program known as C-span.  I see the same shortcomings that I have been critical of for years.  I see the same split with party lines, the fear to deviate from one’s party’s policies.  I see the way the majority bullies the minority and disregards the minority’s arguments.  I see the refusal to come to a compromise, the way the two parties repeat the same old arguments instead of trying to correct the flaws within their own arguments.  I am sickened by it.  The Congress of this country is going the direction that the rest of this country is: further and further towards self-gratification.  
     I still have more hope than I did just a couple short years ago.  I had previously taken the stance that politicians were all full of shit and out for themselves.  While this statement rings truer than I would like to admit, I have since realized that the situation is not as dismal as I had previously believed.  Since watching the daily proceedings of our Congress and hearing the debates of our senators and representatives, I have seen a brighter side of our government.  I have heard some very well put together arguments with some very genuine motives behind them.  I have seen politicians from both sides cross party lines and stand up for what they believe is right.  However, I believe that the essence of the two party system is flawed and corrupted.  I previously shied away from associating myself with one party for fear of feeding the monster.  Since watching some important arguments I reluctantly have to align myself with the Democrats.  I only wonder if I would have the same alignment if the Democrats held the majority the Republicans currently do.  One of the biggest problems I have with the two party system is the majority-rules law of the land.  It seems to me that Republicans sometimes stand by their same tired arguments just in order to keep their party in its position.  When Democrats make convincing arguments their concerns are not addressed but casually dismissed and then completely disregarded when it comes time to vote.  This is not the purpose of our Congress, to further your party’s agenda.  I also see individual politicians further their own agendas through Congress, such as with economical issues and issues concerning regulation of things such as video game sales.  My biggest concern, though, is that if the tables were turned the Democrats would be employing the same strategies.  One of the things I believe in most is questioning authority.  I believe nothing is accomplished without questioning that which has been established.  I find that the Democrats, for the most part, only wish to question on most of the issues that pass through, yet the Republicans condemn them for doing so.  The purpose of our Congress is to act in the best interest of the American people.  It seems to me that the Democrats are trying to find solutions that benefit all Americans, while Republicans try to pass their agenda-laden bills through with as little resistance as possible.  I have lost most of my hope in our government.  The last shred of this hope is that Democrats are not just trying to undermine Republicans in an attempt to gain the proverbial high ground.
     Either way, there is a problem in this system.  Our government has lost sight of the good of the nation.  Somewhere along the line that became intertwined with personal agenda.  A system where two parties constantly vie for power is no democracy.  This power struggle takes the focus away from national good and further towards self-gratification.  To quote one of this country’s greatest leaders, “A house divided cannot stand.”  How can we expect this country to continue to thrive when its entire government is caught up in a nationwide power struggle?  We cannot continue to debate on the grounds of Republican vs. Democrat, conservative vs. liberal.  We have to be able to move forward, to compromise, to be willing to make concessions, to argue not for the good of the self, but for the good of the nation.

Don't Support Our Troops

That’s right let them support themselves.  I know I’m going to become public enemy number 1 for this, but I just don’t care.  When soldiers join the service they make a conscious decision, a decision to submit themselves to the authority of the United States government.  As soon as they do that, they lose their opinion.  Oh sure, they can still speak their minds. But if they disagree with an order, say one to go to war, they can do nothing about it.  They no longer make their own decisions; the government makes them for them.  So why, tell me, should I listen to people who tell me to support a group of people who are brainlessly carrying out orders to support a government agenda that I am morally opposed to?  Because it’s not their choice, you say?  Because they’re just following orders you say?  Bullshit.  They are as much responsible for the war as the people pulling the strings.  Without them there wouldn’t be a war.  They submitted themselves to government authority in the first place and continue to do so.  The people who drove the planes into the buildings on 9/11 were just following orders.  Just because you work for an evil employer yet have good intentions, it doesn’t absolve you from your sins.  The fact is that the men and women in our armed forces are murderous pawns, just like the people they’re fighting.  We are supposedly fighting a war on terror, yet how are we doing it?  Through fear and intimidation.  Iraq is, at present moment, a military state.  The law of the land is the same as it was during the Hussein administration, fear.  And our supposedly unbiased American broadcast stations run programs that chastise so-called insurgents and praise U.S. soldiers.  Now, just so we get this straight, I do not advocate killing in any form.  All I ask for is objectivity.  Realize that just as we saw acts of terrorism as an invasion, the population of Iraq sees our occupation as an invasion that threatens their way of life.  They are the same as us, save for one thing.  They attack out of fear, fear of losing what little they have.  We attack to save face.  We attack because we are afraid of sending the wrong message if we don’t.  We are waging a war because we are afraid of image.  What this world needs is a country that sets a better example.  This war will not stop the violence, it will only perpetuate it.  Furthermore, by taking part in this war, the men and women of our armed services directly associate themselves with all parts of it.  By supporting our troops, I would be supporting unnecessary bloodshed.  Do not support our troops unconditionally and blindly.  Support them by trying to bring them home.

Failure to Communicate

     Hola, amigos!  Para la última semana he tenido el impulso al blog pero he fallado en venir para arriba con un asunto que enciende suficientemente mi furia.  Me preguntaba si mi indignación righteous traería siempre otra vez verdad a alcanza lejos de Cyberspace cuando vi el papel de hoy.  El jueves, de mayo el 18, 2006 que el senado de Estados Unidos votó para hacer inglés la primera lengua nacional de los Estados Unidos.  Ahora sé lo que usted está pensando, él voy a fijar otro blog liberal-en polarizacio'n negativa. Pienso que es el período culminante que conseguimos más allá de los cliches de llevar puntos de vista liberales y conservadores y conseguido la raíz de la edición actual.  Por años América se ha conocido como la tierra de la oportunidad, un pote que derretía para las culturas de todas las clases. Este nuevo acto destruye todos esos ideales. está no más de largo América al lugar para que la gente se exprese libremente.  Está no más de largo esto al país con las oportunidades iguales para toda la gente. Qué nos ha fijado aparte de el resto del mundo por siglos ahora es muerto e ido.  Ahora estamos enviando un mensaje que si usted no habla inglés, usted no sea agradable aquí. Estamos haciendo más y más una nación de biggotry y del seclusion. Y está no solamente este acto spiteful, él es innecesario.  Hay muy pocos opportunites para los ciudadanos de discurso no-ingleses pues es. Ésta no es una cuestión de seguridad nacional pues nuestro presidente omnisciente hizo que usted pensara.  Ningún esto es una tentativa racist en la superioridad y totalmente contra no solamente la primera enmienda pero toda para las cuales nuestro país esté parado. ¿Y por qué se permite? Porque los americanos somos perezosos.  Oigo tan a menudo la excusa del aprender hablar la lengua o salir. Tenía los habitantes originales de este país sido así que tolerante incluso no tendríamos una América. Nuestro mundo es hoy global y una de las cualidades necesarias de él es un ambiente diverso.  Podemos sentar no más de largo detrás olvidadizo a cada uno alrededor de nosotros. Mucha otra gente habla inglés como segunda lengua porque es un neccesity en mundo siempre creciente de hoy.  Ahora nos estamos fijando detrás cerrándose apagado a otras culturas. Éste es más que una aplicación la comunicación que es una aplicación la tolerancia, y además una falta de comunicarse en nuestra parte.
     Si usted habla esperanza del español I usted toma la época de leer y de gozar de este blog. Si no, le animo a que pase los 15 minutos de esfuerzo de ir a http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr a traducir este blog a inglés. Utilicé ese sitio para la traducción en línea, así que las palabras exactas pueden ser poco apagado, pero el mensaje todavía está allí. Hasta la vez próxima, el cuidado de la toma de ustedes mismos y