My first blog!!

So, I bet you never would have guessed, but today I start my first official blog!  And what better day to get started than Tax Day, April 15th! (Ok, I lied, I finished this late) I have been fired up all day about all of these "Tea Party" Protests going on around the country.  Now, don't get me wrong, protests can and should be a part of a healthy democracy.  Aside from voting, what better way can we express our feelings towards our government's policies!  I am ALL for it!  However, my problem is with the timing of all of this, and I don't mean Tax Day.  So clever... However, NOT so clever in how we got here in the first place and how we reacted then.  So, let's take a stroll through not so distant history...

Voting!  Like I said, voting is our first line of defense against electing public officials that have their own self interests at heart, not the American people.  Problem is that politicians have to SELL themselves to their constituents and nowadays there are such advanced marketing campaigns that, well, Americans are SOLD on a ton of CRAP that is useless, even when it comes to politicians.  But we live in a culture where BLIND FAITH Rules and we are just supposed to believe that we are being told the truth.  So, instead of digging deep, finding out the truth, talking with local officials, attending City council meetings, WHATEVER, most people just got behind the guy who wanted to ban abortion and keep marraige between a man and a woman(two other whole issues, don't get me started!  Oh, wait, that's the purpose of this blog!) and just figured that everything else must fall in line.  

Problem is, as we can see by the devastation the last eight years has left us with, IT WAS JUST A LINE OF BULLSHIT!  They used the heartstrings of those who believe to get their votes.  And then they used their office for their own gain, taking bribes, allowing deregulation to set the stage for loopholes that allowed the kind of economic and monetary mismanagement that got us into this mess.  They let their friends at the banks design loan programs that no one could understand and then they allowed the American people to think that EVERYONE could own a home, doing whatever it took to get a client qualified, no matter what the loan actually meant (and I know, I have my real estate license in California, I saw the programs, I didn't sell them, and my clients I'm sure are forever grateful!). It meant that Americans could buy and consume 'cause ya gotta put shit in that home, right!   The stage was set, and America was it's unknowing players.

So, we didn't really take an ACTIVE role in voting, did we.  If so, how could we have possibly voted for Bush, again...  How could we vote for the kinds of people that would let this happen!!! Government is supposed to protect us, right? Aren't we supposed to have a government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people! As with so many other things that I can't even begin to talk about or I will never finish this first blog, the American people have had the wool pulled over their eyes.  We have been blind to the facts and deceived. 

Other than voting, well, then we have to hit the streets, make those phone calls, emails, letters, whatever!  It's our duty to stand up and have a voice when things are not going in the right direction.  My problem with the timing of these protests is that they are about, say, four to six years too late.  Where was the outrage back then?  There were so many problems with the Bush administration, yet everyone just sat back and let it happen!  And then voted for the guy again!  This outrage should have started back then and only been building more and more throughout the Bush Administration.  And to do it now seems like America is using Barack Obama as the scapegoat.  Sure, I agree that taxes should be fair and that the stimulus plan should have extreme oversight and applied logic so that we don't have unneeded pork.  There are SOME great congressional programs that will indeed help to create jobs and a better economy and only those congressman and representatives know their own district's as well as their respective constituents.  BUT, COME ON, do we really need wasteful programs like tattoo removal for guys coming out of prison?  Yes, I'm sure it is great for those inmates to have a clean start and not be judged by their tattoos, but is it really in the best interest of the people to spend that money in that way.  Aren't there many more issues that need to be addressed before we give up every last penny for things that are not going to have as great of an impact as we need.  We need so much more than that and we have to dig deep, make sacrifices, and get America truly back on track.  So, I hear ya, I'm fed up too!  But the timing of all of this seems a little trivial.  Let's just band together and make sure that we continue to do the right thing, stay focused on social issues and take a continuous active role in our society and democracy.  We owe it to the America that was built for us to not completely destroy it.