I'm Not Voting...

I thought I'd start the blogging off with a bang. And it's true... I'm exercising my Constitutional right to not vote this year. Hold on. Before you yell at me about "Rocking the Vote" and making a change and all that... whatever... listen to my reasoning.

I've listened to what little debating I could handle without nausea, and I've researched the candidates online. I've tried to not listen to biased media slants. I've tried to keep an open mind, even though I live in a very liberal state, and most of my family and long-term friends live in a very conservative state. And I don't like what I'm hearing, or reading. Nothing much of what's being debated, preached, speeched, and propagated is of any interest to me. Ahh! I can feel the outrage already... I will explain, so don't leave angry comments until I finish.

OK... I'm not going to go too deeply into the war. We are in one... we need to get out in a way that poses the least residual damage to both sides. Both candidates know this. Both have plans. I have personal opinions about what I might do, but I openly admit that I don't know enough about the art of war to express these opinions in a legitimate, knowledgeable manner. I just want to hear less arguing about it. I'm tired of "Whose-idea-is-better." Both have positive and negative points to their plans, and I just don't know enough to chose which is better.

Next, I think that we spend too much time on "issues" of right and wrong, me against you, right against left. Why do we need to turn personal stances into political platforms? What we believe about abortion, gay marriage, etc., has very little to do with the business of running a country. (I know, my friends on both sides of these issues probably have their eyes rolled into knots in the back of their heads at this point. Why do politics make us so angry at each other? Not good.) Hear me out. If I go into a bank, I want them to know how to manage my money... I don't care if they have a married gay couple working there. If I go to the emergency room with appendicitis, I'm not going to grill the surgeon on whether or not he performs abortions... I'm just going to hope he can get the appendix out before it ruptures! And what I care about the most in a president, is if he knows the business of running this country. I'm not saying that we shouldn't care about these issues... I'm just saying we shouldn't base who we vote for on whether or not they do or do not believe in our pet causes.

So what else... wall street, gas prices, health care, education... and so many more issues. There are valid, and not so valid points, that both sides make. And it's not enough for me. Stop talking about tax cuts and budget cuts and, I don't know, Hair cuts!! It's all the same at this point. Because I hear it every four years. Because there are still mentally ill people walking around homeless and hungry. Because most of the people in my neighborhood can't afford glasses and dental care and medicine for their kids. Because I'm college educated and can't pay all my bills. Because music and art are being cut from our children's lives. Because people still starve and die and despair. And all we hear is how we need to bail out wall street, and give the middle class a tax break, and stop the war, stop the war, stop the war.

All I see around me are people hurting. And the presidential candidates spend millions campaigning. Give me a candidate who has spent millions on soup kitchens, and foster homes, and cancer research. Better yet, give me candidate who has spent millions of HOURS doing things to help the down-trodden. This is what I expect from a president. Someone who will spend his time and our nations resources on bolstering an economy where ALL have a chance to thrive. Politics I don't fully understand... People I get a little better... We all want and need the same things: health and safety and human contact. Unconditional love. Give me a candidate who's first inclination is to stop American wastefulness and help those who have not. (Incidentally, the president makes about $400,000 a year plus expenses. Last year I worked my tail off and made less than $20,000. In my neighborhood, most people make much less than that. Maybe we should make cuts in Federal salaries. While we're at it we can make cuts in how much we pay entertainers. But that's another blog...)

So, you may ask, If I recognize the need for change, why am I not voting? Because I believe in standing up for what you believe in, and I don't believe in either candidate enough to "stand" up for, or with, them. I don't believe in voting for the lesser of two evils, or the better of two bests, or however you want to look at it. If I don't like either one, then I'm not wasting my time going for the one I like better, or dislike least. I'm going to spend my time instead by doing the little things I can to lend a hand. I'm going to give the pregnant woman on the train my seat. I'm going to give my cantaloupe to the grateful homeless man who begs on West 3rd. I'm going to buy a poorer friend than me a meal, or hold the door for someone with a lot of bags. I'm going to give my old clothes to the soup kitchen up the block. I'm going to try to not get annoyed with tourists who walk so slow. And I'm going to keep my eyes open to the possibilities of bigger and better ways to help human-kind.

Basically, I think it is my responsibility to use the resources I have, no matter how much or how little, to make the change I want to see in this world. I am taking back responsibility... a politician cannot save the world, or this country, but we can. We can change the world, one person at a time. How can we blame one man for all these problems, when we aren't doing all we can to help our own piece of the world? I am guilty of this too... So vote, or don't... It matters little to the big picture. But join me in becoming the change we want and need.

OK... If you've made it this far you have earned the right to rant... I probably won't respond to your rant, cause I don't like arguing... but I will listen (Or read) each one, and carefully consider them. And I reserve the right to change my mind, if some truly knowedgable, wise, and realistic advice comes my way. But I don't care if anyone agrees with me or not, I just like having a voice that is heard...

Forever your moderate spiritual humanist,
K