Political climates

So, today I had a friend ask me if she could ask me a few questions. I'm always open to sharing and answering questions, so I told her it was no problem. Then she made the comment that she had to figure out how to ask in a politically correct way.

I have never been one that was particularly concerned about being politically correct, so I was almost offended by that, but I waited to hear what it was she had to ask. Because of her comment, I honestly expected a question about my personal life, but she surprised me by asking a really political question, "What do you think about our current administration?"

WOW! Politics! I mentioned to someone last night that I had been taught to be ladylike and never discuss politics or religion publically. Both are very emotional topics for some people, and one can easily break friendships by stating the "wrong" views with the "wrong" people. I have gotten in trouble on more than one occasion by discussing politics or religion and finding that both are somehow intertwined one with another. One day I thought I was going to have to break up a fight - literally speaking - because of two passengers that I was bantering with about politics. Then THEY got into it with each other and I got scared!

So, I told her the truth. "I'm watching and waiting to see what happens," I responded.

And then she asked what I thought of the current actions of the administrations on the economy and I told her the truth. "I haven't really been paying much attention," I admitted. "There's not a damn thing I can do about it, so I've been paying more attention to the things closer to home I can do something about."

Wow. Yeah. Way to make friends and influence people, I'm sure. Right.

But, it's the truth.

I figure that most, if not all, politicians are corrupt in one way or another. I believe that the current administration is doing the best they can for our country overall, according to what they know, understand, and are capable of. I really don't believe that anyone in our current administration is trying to destroy our country in any way. That would be pointless for all of us. Perhaps I believe too strongly that most people desire a win/win situation. Doesn't matter, I can't control what our political leaders are doing, so I don't worry about it. I will give feedback on issues on occasion, write to my congressman or some such thing, but most of the time I just observe and hope.

I believe that our current administration - President Obama, his advisors, etc. - are having to deal with the inept actions of former administrations, that (theoretically) did they best they could. My personal, and long-term, opinion is that George W. was a victim of his own total incompetence and blind trust in poor advisors. He did our country no favors with some of his policies and I have not really been able to trust him since he started trying to take away from the balance of power and put more power in the Executive position in our government. He used the climate of panic to manipulate the American people into giving him more power than what was necessary or healthy for the Nation as a whole.

Thus saying, I must also admit that I voted him into his second term of office because I felt that he was the lesser of two evils when compared with John Kerry.

I also think that George the Incompetent would have done much better to view his father as an advisor. The senior George Bush had an understanding of diplomacy and foreign politics that lost him a second term because of the lack of understanding of the majority of the American people, but that George the Incompetent would have been intelligent to follow. It is a shame that he seemed so bent on doing just the opposite.

As far as the current economy - this has been a long time coming. Why did we, the American people, allow it? Yes, we do have to take some responsibility. It's our votes that put the people in charge in that position. It's our lack of action that allows them to continue doing the same thing and expecting different results.

My opinion? Yes, they do deserve some compensations, but how many people in the private sector get to decide what their own wages will be? How many people in the private sector get to decide what will be spent on their health care programs? And how many people in the private sector can expect millions to be poured into their pockets for a few years of part-time service?

Yeah.

I want THAT job!

Sad thing is, it takes so much money to get involved in politics that it's very highly unlikely that the average citizen will ever be given the opportunity to walk in and make a difference. It's the people that already have the money to get into politics that get into office and then never have to worry or work again.

So that leads me to WELFARE REFORM.

WHAT? Believe it or not, it was not my fault that I was abandoned by my husband when I had three small children and was expecting my fourth. It was not my fault that my health would not allow me to work throughout my pregnancy. It was not my fault that the man involved refused to pay any sort of support and that he quit his job so he only had to pay the minimum required by the state. It was not my fault that he didn't report to the courts when he was gainfully employed so that the amount he was required to pay was increased.

And I found myself living through the welfare system. I could not have survived or taken care of my children without it.

Here's the kicker. While I'm on welfare, the media blitz is suddenly for the welfare recipient witch hunt. ALL welfare recipients are represented by mainstream media as being lazy drug dealers who really had more money than the average Joe. They were represented as being able to have good jobs with no issues to keep that lovely life from being in their grasp but their own laziness and contributing to every horrible thing the American people were having to endure at the same time.

And the cry went out for welfare reform.

I was all for welfare reform on several levels. Yes, I was a welfare recipient and was very thankful for what I was receiving, but I was IN the system and could identify where the welfare system could use "fixing." Did anyone ask for my input? Did anyone ask me to "earn" a part of my welfare payments by working toward an answer? By giving feedback? By doing anything that might contribute to the system that was supporting my family?

No.

It was a bunch of politicians listening in on the media witch hunt and ignoring reality that "reformed" the system.

Prior to welfare reform, I was a certified trainer for a state run organization that was literally turning lives around. It was giving people a hand up and helping them to develop the ability to contribute more fully to society through learning how to communicate better in every aspect of their lives. I have many really heart-touching stories about how that program of education made a difference in the lives of adults and children alike.

Welfare reform put that program under a different governing board. It was reported that the tens of thousands of dollars worth of materials we had collected was quickly and efficiently disposed of - in the dumpster. These materials had taken both dollars and hours to compile and they were all thrown out like garbage.

Why? Because educating people on how to create a better life was getting people out of the welfare system. It was more cost effective to keep people in the system. It was not the people trying to stay in the system, but the system trying to maintain control of the people.

That is what welfare reform accomplished.

Do I sound cynical? Probably. Do I have reason to believe that way? Definitely!

I can tell you, as someone who has worked hard to get out of the welfare system, that the welfare system is set up to suck people in and KEEP them on welfare. The system itself is designed to punish those who work to get out of the system while rewarding those who choose to do nothing to improve their own situation.

The system itself is meant to devalue anyone who is involved in it.

If we want to create a more productive society and allow more people to contribute, the system needs to be REFORMED with that in mind. Education should be a priority in the welfare system. Not just the type of education one receives at school, but an education on thinking. On creating a positive INTERNAL invironment by how you think and perceive and believe. THAT is what makes a difference, it's how we choose to SEE the world around us and within us.

This creates a valuing society - a valuing system - that creates hope, ability, options, and ideas.

So, here I come full circle.

Why am I ignoring so much that is going on in the "political climate" right now? Because so many times the media and others concentrate on the negatives. Why is this significant? Because I honestly believe, fully and whole-heartedly, that we will get what we concentrate on. If I choose to follow the negatives, I will see, and perhaps help create, more negatives. If I ignore those negatives and concentrate on the positives I can see, I will have the opportunity to create more positives.

It's all in perspectives.

Let's get some new views in politics and in life!