Who is to Blame for the economic chaos we find ourselves in today? We are, you, me, our friends and family members. We are all guilty without a doubt.
Here is why.
We choose to live in a sound bite society. Reacting to negativity with disdain. Our anger directed only towards each other. We talk about it daily with our friends, family and aquatiances. Do we take the time to voice those concerns to those who could make a difference (our elected representatives ) ? No we do not!
Instead we choose to fall back on our list of favorites " One person can't change anything" or " No one will listen to me " or my favorite " They are going to do what they want anyway ". These are all cop-out phrases.
We heard the words but we did not pay attention when President Obama said " Change will happen if you want it, but you need to Push me " or something to that effect!
The world has changed yet we continue to hide our head in the sand pretending that it has not. In the 1980's the number of Lobbyists were in the Hundreds. Since then it has exploded into the tens of thousands.
President Obama told us how to effect that change. Yet everyday Americans choose to go about their way and live life as they always had. Waiting for the change to happen.
Well my friends the Lobbyists listened. They took President Obama's message to heart. They have been speaking loud and clear while the rest of us sit around and wait for change to happen the Lobbyists are making it happen.
If this Change is not what you were waiting for then perhaps you need to do more than just wait! The Voice of one honest constituant carries more weight than you can imagine. The voices of many can be amazing.
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Well said, Herb. I stay active in my local community, and I regularly call and email my state and national representatives. Our world is definitely what we make of it.
Herb - it seems now, more than ever, what you say is true. Folks don't protest like they used to, we've become a herd of sheep. And that is not a good thing.
We definitely need to stand up and be counted.... but didn't we get ourselves into this mess? After all, Hitler ran on "change" without explaining WHAT that change was....
I 100% agree. We go on about life hoping it will change. I do write my reps in Michigan about once a month. More often as of late. One letter can make a difference.
I support your position, and I contact my Representative, and both State Senators on a fairly regular basis (enough that I'm beginning to worry that I may find myself in trouble for constantly chiding them).
However, I believe I am more of a Don Quixote than anything else. If we truly have the power to effect the behavior of our elected officials more than the Lobbyists, why were the health care, and bailout bills passed when the vast majority of public input was opposed?
Thank you all for stopping by and your comments.
Hitler? really Linda is that a name you think you want to associate yourself with? Honestly I don't think I could possibly type that in someones Blog Post. Argue my postion Yes but that would be it for me.
I like Ron's analogy of Don Quixote, it does seem the windmills are winning. In my opinion the Internet has become the sword; instead of making phone calls there is email and social networking. It is a great way to mass an army if used correctly: the Tea Party used it to gather supporters. What I like best about the Internet is it is multi-generational; it's used by all ages. No longer can the twenty - thirty and forty year olds use the excuse they are working and supporting families so they don't have time to contact politicians, they can do it from their lap top, just before they start playing Spider Solitaire.
Herb - I don't want change, I want improvement. And that is not what we have received because people blindly followed a promise of change without considering what that change, or those changes, would be. And, it was very clear on some legislation, especially health care reform, that the majority of American people did not want what was being presented. But the administration and congress still went with what they wanted, and of course the lobbyists. When pockets are lined, or favors granted, its tough to follow what the less than powerful want, even if in the majority. But voices were heard last Novemeber. And will be heard again next year.
Health care is a Lightening Rod. I do not wish to talk about that specific issue as it often has a tendency to pull people in different directions.
Howerver when it comes to any issue that ignites peoples passions I believe what happens is the following. Each and every one of us tend to listen to and follow those who we either agree with or who have made a point that we want to follow.
Example : If I was a Carriage Maker ( back in the day of the horse and buggy ) and I had a lot of close friends, family, and customers we all would most likely hate the Automobile industry. Indeed we would all pretty much believe that most everyone thought like us. And we would be right because everyone we liked and followed all thought alike.
All except of course those on the Automobile side. Of couse we never listened to those people and we always ignored any statistic that supported their side.
The best informed people in my opinion are those who listen to all sides of the argument and are able to back it up with a variety of polls from a variety of different sources. The least infomed people who are those that get their information from only one source and choose only to repeat sound bites and can site no polls other than the ones created by the one source they follow.
Thanks for stopping by Mike. I think that Change would be an improvement.
Just stopped by to say that I