PSA: Janie doesn’t like to engage in the political, but there are some duties we have to do whether we like them or not. It’s election day today, and I feel it my responsibility to say just a few things.
Americans everywhere with an eye to the future have the opportunity to vote today. There is much to be discontent about, and it seems more and more Americans are waking up from their oblivious contentment and realizing the Administration is not making life better. A growing segment of the population is actually seeing clearly that if something doesn’t drastically change soon, American life will be less and less about freedom and more and more about government dishonesty and oppression. Today is a chance to make some changes. In order for that to happen, the votes must be counted honestly, and people need to start taking responsibility.
The Big R. Responsibility. We don’t have enough of that flowing through our nation these days. There is a cold, dark side to responsibility. It’s not always pretty, but it’s the true measure of a person’s or an entity’s worth.
Wake up fellow Americans. Only you can be responsible for you. When you give your government responsibility for yourself, whether you think you’re doing it for the greater good, for convenience, or for practicality, ultimately all you are doing is giving up your FREEDOM and that of your children, your grandchildren and your community.
Get responsible. Go vote today and vote for less government, truly free markets, and less taxation. Vote for candidates that vow to get rid of Obamacare and get rid of political support of big business and agriculture. Our government has no business telling us how to educate our children, what to eat, how to provide our health care, how to drive, whether we can have marijuana or prostitutes, whether we can have abortions, whether we can defend ourselves or hunt, and it should never, ever, take away our right to think and provide for ourselves, much less express our discontent. Be wary of programs that can hinder these rights. Be wary of politicians who promise you higher minimum wage, debt forgiveness, redistribution of wealth and more government oversight. Be wary of programs and politicians that offer to support and protect you so that you don’t have to do it yourself and who suggest they know better what’s best for you.
Redefine responsible. Being responsible isn’t driving a Prius, buying carbon credits and getting your kids to soccer on time. It’s not blindly following the rules and believing everything you’re told because someone else must know better and you’re just too damned busy and that’s why we have governments anyway. Being responsible isn’t accepting a system that encourages militant police to harass citizens with impunity. It’s not siding with your favorite actor du jour and moms against guns who work tirelessly to take away your right to bear arms. It’s not blanket amnesty for illegals. It’s not political leaders who use Washington as a country club or an Administration that spends more and more money on programs that only take away your rights.
Responsibility is, however, not ignoring the obvious when it’s inconvenient and messy. Responsibility is not kow-towing to the popular party line. Responsibility is standing up, drawing a line in the sand and saying, “I didn’t make this mess, but I’m going to clean it up and you’re going to help or you can get the Hell out of the way.”
Be responsible. It’s not easy bearing the weight of moral and ethical decisions. It’s not easy to take responsibility for unpopular beliefs or actions. But if you don’t take that responsibility, someone else will, and if you give that responsibility to a politician, they might not exercise that responsibility in the manner truly favorable to you and the masses. Chances are good they will make choices which will make them and their ilk more powerful and untouchable.
History has shown time and time again that it is bad juju to blindly follow your political machine. This country was founded in a unique way. We were born from people who were tired of being told how to live their life and being beholden to religious and political tyrants. These forefathers gave up comforts and family and took responsibility. They drew that line in the sand and they created something truly amazing: a country founded on the premise that all people have inalienable rights, chiefly centered around personal freedoms. But in order to hold freedom within your grasp you must carry responsibility before you.
So take responsibility. Read, think and act for yourself. Get mad when others try to do it for you. Demand accountability from yourself and those you elect. Vote responsibly. Vote so that you can hold on to your responsibility, and demand that the people you vote for are held responsible. Go to the polls today, fellow Americans, and vote for candidates who support your freedom to be responsible for yourself, to maintain your full rights and freedoms secured 200+ years ago by our forefathers. Go with hope that voting is still enough to protect your rights from seizure by a corrupt government and that the system isn’t so broken that the votes of the real people, not phantom voters, will still actually count for something.
And if it doesn’t, be prepared to shoulder a new responsibility.
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