Politics + Friends = dangerous water

No pretty pictures today. For my friends abroad, today is Election Day here in the states. I make it a point not to talk about politics or religion here because many of the individuals who read this are friends. Both of those topics are personal. What they mean to me can be ENTIRELY opposite of how you believe. Now, I am blessed to have a few friends that I can discuss this with...not because we believe the same, but because we don't have any plans of trying to convert or sway one another to our personal point of view.

So, here is the first of my revelations. I am a Republican. I served in the military and saw President Reagan come in and start pulling us out of the poverty-level pay that President Carter had allowed by refusing to increase pay. Much like teachers, I believe that our military, police, and fire department personnel are grossly underpaid. That was in my youth, so it formed my basis for my political belief system.

I have sat through four years of Obama, and honestly, I can't recall a time when things were worse in this country. If you want to vote for "who got Bin Laden" then vote for the commander of the Navy Seals. Obama no more had a hand in that than you or I. Sorry, folks, but that is the way intel works...you tell nobody until AFTER the fact. And for you who banged your drum about the evil Bush regime and Guantanamo...do you recall the promises made to shut that place down? How's that worked out? 

We have divided and divided again. Unemployment is through the roof, and our economy is in tatters. Now, is it ALL Obama's fault? Nope. No more than Hurricane Sandy can be attributed to him. And here is one problem...all the pundits say that his "handling" of the storm may have given him the bounce back to win.  So basically...who cares about the issues that have been at stake for the past few years...he made a few public appearances and looked suitably sad at the right times, so we can just ignore what has been going on? That is like painting over a rusty spot on your car. It may be out of sight for a bit, but it will be so much worse when you see it next time.

So, before you get the wrong idea...I am not a fan of Mitt Romney either. He reminds my of the Martin Sheen version of the president in The Dead Zone. To put it bluntly, he scares the heck out of me. However, I have heard his take on what he wants to do in regards to this economy and, to me, it is just a more sound plan. So that is my take on the Big Race.

But here is the reality...all of these people are professional "talkers". They sell themselves to you with words...and not even their own. SO basically they are automatons who hire talented writers to make them sound good. What they do have is a certain charisma. And since Kennedy...that has been what makes the difference. I don't think this nation ever recovered from JFK's assassination. We made him into this icon, and quite frankly, the stories that have surfaced over the decades paint a bit of a booty chaser with some questionable ties to some rather unsavory folks. But he is our King Arthur... era was dubbed "Camelot" and we have systematically dismantled every president since.

So, whoever you vote for today, whatever issues you support or oppose, I hope you at least exercise your right. I have been around the world and seen places like Egypt, Spain, Turkey, and Italy. We have it pretty good, folks. So stay civil today. Try not to be "that crazy person in the office" bent on converting everybody to their opinion. And tomorrow, when we wake up...we will find that, no matter who won, nothing has really changed. We still have to live with each other. So was it worth all the vitriol...the hard feelings...