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mr. Sun king coming together said:

If you hate this so much, FIX IT. I can’t believe what I’m reading. Americans, the youth, are disenfranchised, and yet they just say “oh well”. If the system is f***ed up, FIX IT. Run for councillor, or State rep, or Congressman. Do something. Instead of saying this is screwed, do something. Do you think you’d be Americans right now if George Washington just said, “Oh, the British are asses, but I’m too lazy to complain.”? Of course not. The Tea Party, for all the things about it, shows they care. Same with Occupy. Stop complaining and start fixing. Things happen when people say “I’ll be the change I want.”

Oh, and RedLennon, how many current members of Congress were millionaires BEFORE they entered politics? The pay for a Congressman? $132 000 (or something very similar). If you’re in a safe seat, win 4 elections and you get a million dollars easy. Look, if you care so much, join a movement. Run for something. You never know; I could be typing this at a future President. After all, Stephen Harper was just a disillusioned man who joined Reform. Guess what? He can now do whatever the hell he wants in Ottawa. Or look at Jack Layton. City Councillor for 25 years, then 8 years at the head of the NDP, including a brief moment as Leader of the Opposition. Sadly, he died of cancer on August 22nd. Look, you can be the change you want to see – if you care enough to do it.

It’s easy to say just fix it, SunKing, but there is a little more to it than that. Petitioning is supposed to be a way to get your voice heard. That is doing something. Complaining, as weird as it sounds, sometimes works. Voicing displeasure over this bill might be heard; therefore, if talking helps, do it. It’s naive to think that just running for office will fix anything. Every American citizen doesn’t have to run for office in order to affect change. That’s why we vote, protest, and petition. It’s worked okay until now, and I hope it keeps working. By doing these things, we are doing something. I want to be a doctor…not a politician. Does that mean I shouldn’t voice my displeasure with the way things are going? No. Bringing attention to the bill does far more than me running for office because I know fuck all about being a national leader. I do know this bill takes the cake, though, and I am angry about that. I’m doing my part by voicing my concern. I hope others will do the same. Maybe someone will hear us.

I don't hate politicians. I actually used to LOVE politics. I remember watching returns for the 2008 primaries giddy with excitement. (I was so hoping Hilary would win! I love the Clintons.) I think, however, as you get a little older, you see that nothing ever changes. When I was a teenager, politics seemed like fun. It was exciting because it was new to me. Now, however, that this is the fourth election that I am paying close attention to, I see the same shit over and over again. They all say the same things, and nothing ever gets done.

In American politics, it's all about talking points. Republicans talk about abortion and gay people. As if the president could do much to turn over Roe v. Wade, anyway? Why should that matter to the executive branch? It's a judicial matter that the president can't control unless he gets the exciting proposition of replacing everyone on the Supreme Court (which Bush nearly got to do…did he make 2  appointments or 3? Can't remember…Roberts, Alito…). They like to talk about their religion, as if that has anything to do with whether or not you are a good leader, unless you use your religion to make decisions that oppress others…which people like Rick Perry have no problems with. As long as Christianity is the only religion ever mentioned, he has no problems with shoving religion down everyone's throats. They never talk about serious issues that affect us. When they do, they talk around them.

Democrats, at least, seem mostly intelligent. They try to focus on important matters and then are called elitist. They are good at making plans and talking about them. They, however, when they get into office, they don't carry those plans out because they can't stand up to Republicans. They compromise without Conservatives having to give up anything. They are spineless, but I still vote for them. It's better than the alternative. I like the saying that Democrats don't need opponents. They are good at beating themselves.

Sometimes it feels like a hopeless situation. Republicans try to make us live in a world of terror, where everything spells out Doomsday…except for the things that actually might spell out Doomsday (climate change, lack of proper health care, no regulation on huge corporations, a military that is so huge I am actually starting to be afraid if this bill passes). They warn about the end of times because gay people can serve in the military, because kids aren't forced by their teachers to say a prayer every morning, or because we are *le gasp* forbidden to say Merry Christmas. It's bullshit. Plain and simple. Republicans don't want these issues to go away. They don't want to overturn Roe v. Wade. There would be nothing to talk about then. They don't want gays to get married, not because it ruins the sanctity of marriage (check out all the types of marriage in the Bible…man to woman and her slave, male slave to a submissive female slave, female to her husband's brother, man to woman and multiple concubines, etc.), but because it gives them something to run against. It's insane and not something our government should even be worrying about. They need to worry about the economy, foreign relations, jobs, Health Care, education, and the environment. Meanwhile, Perry wants to get rid of the Dept. of Education, Dept. of Commerce, and the EPA! Three areas we need to work on the most, and he wants to cut them?!?!?! Maybe an overhaul would be a good idea, but to completely cut those agencies is not a solution. He would never hear of cutting the Dept. of Homeland Security, even though we have about a million security agencies in place already that can't even communicate with each other long enough to warn of terrorist attacks. What good is one more agency?

It's people like him that make me lose faith in politicians. He's stupid…maybe even worse than Bush because Bush at least seems to be a likable person. He isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and he surrounded himself with crook that led him around by the nose. There's something endearing about him, and he could have been a good president if he wasn't so damn stupid. He let those around him have too much power because he didn't know what to do with it when he got it. President Obama…well, he's smart. Problem is, he can't get anything done because of Congress. And he also has backed down on some pretty important issues that he promised to address…Guantanamo Bay is still open, he has approved more drilling in Alaska. He has, however, as a supposedly weak-willed Democrat, been the Commander-in-Chief during the capture/deaths of some of the world's most wanted terrorists. Seems odd, huh? And now, they want to treat American citizens as prisoners of our own nation? For those who think this isn't serious, you need to think about it for a minute. This goes directly against everything our Constitution stands for! It is ILLEGAL to detain citizens (should be anyone, not just citizens, in my opinion) without a fair trial. It is appalling to me that no one is talking about it! I bet I sound crazy, but this bill really scares me. I can't stomach the thought of our nation turning into a place of fear, but I feel helpless to do anything about it!