Here we all are, less than a month from one of the most explosive presidential elections of our time. On the far, far right stand the Mavericks themselves, Senator John McCain, and his Vice Presidential pick, Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin. To the left stand Barrack Obama and his VP, Joseph Biden. Who will lead our country ino the future, solving the problems of present and future, and who will bring us backwards?
That's a tough question. Both teams have publicly advocated change, or at least given it enough lip service to get to the final stretch of the election. This election transcends partisanship in that the problems and issues we face in this country are faced by everyone, in some measure. Sophistry and fancy talk aside, who is really going to stand with us, stand up for us, and get us out of trouble, rather than thumbing their noses at the rest of the world?
Barrack Obama has shown himself to be down to earth, earnest, and striving towards America's high seat with some lofty goals. He is not from a politically connected or wealthy background, and yet, this man who has risen by his own burning desire to succeed where others have failed, and have failed us, he has impressed us with his forthrightness and ability to answer questions with straight, honest answers.
John McCain has served his country with honor and aplomb, standing up even against his own political party on several occasions, to speak for what is right. He is politically connected, wealthy, and also, earnest, in his own way, about making some serious changes in our country.
Traditionally, the definition for the term Conservative means keeping things the way they are, with no, or very little change. If we take the most important issues that we are facing in the early part of the twenty first century, and go through them one by one, it might be easier to see what might happen should one or the other of the two teams, triumph in November, and what might the consequences of that result be for us.
The Economy
Got to this point largely due to three things, happening simultaneously. The first is that large companies have been outsourcing labor to other countries, thus depriving Americans of jobs, in order to improve their bottom line. This we know.
The second thing is that our military troops have been occupying another country, sometimes two other countries, for the last five years. That has a cost. We Americans don't know the true dollar figure, but we do know that it all began when George W. decided in Early Spring of 2003 to send our boys in to Iraq for a quick resolution. Still, here we all are, five years and some months later.....
The third thing is the bottoming out of the financial market. About three years ago, the real estate market was booming, along with the mortgage and loan industry, at which time a lot of loans were written which never should have been approved. Due to the employment crunch in this country, many people lost their jobs. Because some of those who lost their jobs were also recipients of questionable loans, they were not able to repay the loans and thus many people lost their homes to foreclosure, a nightmare for everyone.
Because of the high number of foreclosures in practically every area of this country, the property values everywhere sank to below market value, and much below what many of those same people paid for those homes to begin with.
Sophistry on the part of either set of candidates is not going to fix these issues. Bulldogs in lipstick with barbie dolls wearing moose-hunting gear are not going to improve our economy..... unless these toys are patented and made in the US, and imported overseas in the billions. Maybe then we can put a dent in the deficit created during the current administration.
The Threat of Terrorism
There is actually a very simple solution to this problem. Leave them alone. Let them fix it themselves. Have you noticed that the more we, as Americans, get involved in overseas politics, the more attacks we face, and the more likely it is we will continue to be attacked.
Here is a little known fact: There has been war in the middle east for six thousand years. From the first dynasty of Egypt to the Assyrian Dynasty out of Nineveh, to the Shah of Iran, to Saddam Hussein, up to our current crisis in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. They would hate us anyway, because we don't live the way they live, but they hate us even more because we won't mind our own business.
Equal Pay Act
There is no reason why women with the same qualifications, education, and experience aren't given the same amount of money as would be given to a man for the same job. Enough said. McCain said that women need to "get more training and experience" but that was a cop out answer. The question is whether all other things being equal, if the Federal Government would pass a law for both genders to receive equal pay for the same work, under the same conditions.
Reducing the Deficit
Stop borrowing money from other countries. Manufacture more products here in America, giving more jobs back to Americans, and import our products, not our labor.
Who will do these things? Who will follow common sense to its logical end? It's not hard for any one of us to solve our country's problems on paper. We can all do it. The question is which candidate is really listening to us, to what we need, and which one is going to lead us back into the distant past, or worse, into nuclear war?
Government is not about religion. It's not even about moral values. We all have moral values, be they different from each other in small but subtle ways. It's about running a country, not running it into the ground with debt.
When you vote, when we all vote on November 5th of this year, think about that. Because every vote really does count.
You are so open minded.