Our Own Complacent Idiocy

Well I believe that I have officially been "told". That analytical Eckstein mind sifted through all the BS and picked out my hypocrisy. You are correct. I am not above the apathy that has engrossed America. There are many times when I could be more informed and/or active in political affairs. In fact perhaps I evidence this trait to a greater degree than many. Many people can claim that they were to busy with kids, work, or bills to go vote. I on the other hand have plenty of time and a lack of good excuses. While I may place a greater importance and interest in our federal government, local issues will likely effect me in more immediate and apparent ways. All this to say kudos cousin. I'm afraid I'll have to find a very convincing reason not to vote next time. After considering the comments of my dear cousin, who inspired this blog, I found myself drawn to the topic further. First let's investigate the value and validity of voting. Let's begin by assuming that your vote does have value and affects the course of political affairs. Validity in this example refers to the question of whether your vote is largely a personal choice or merely following a trend. The reason I ask this question of validity is because the idea behind our government is that the majority of voters will be capable of independent educated thought and the elected candidates will reflect this allowing for a diverse and adaptable body to rule. I acknowledge that this assumption will not be shared by some. If our votes are to be valid we must have the ability to analyze and filter the information we receive. When the majority of the public lacks this ability and will quite easily believe anything that is shown to them on a TV screen the validity of the system is broken. At this point one must make a judgment call. Can most Americans make the distinctions between truth and propaganda? At it's most basic level this question tests the very character of Americans. It is not merely a question of whether my vote is valid. It is a question of whether the majority of voters are valid. If this is not the case the entire system of voting is not valid. Invalidating your individual vote. To boil all this down to it's most simple format. Does the American government still represent Americans? I believe most Americans would respond with a patriotic "Yes!". My issue with this is that I do not believe they have stopped to consider the question. Tell me how one goes about determining the actual representative power of the government? Perhaps I haven't been getting out enough but I do not recall ever hearing about any type of research on this question. It is not discussed in the media. Perhaps in political academia things of this nature are reviewed. All this to say that there are many factors to consider before determining whether your vote on a specific issue for a specific occasion actually matters.
There was a second concept that caught my attention in the latter half of my cousins comment. "making a difference starts at a local level." I loved this statement. Making a difference does start in the lowest level of interactions. Not simply city governments and such but also the discussions and questions we delve into in our social circles. At this very moment by reading my blog (and hopefully contributing afterward) you and I can change our ideas about government, voting, and a many other issues. I hope someday reasonable people will begin talking about these thing more often. That people will begin to change and take an interest in reality outside their own contentment. This is the reality that lead to our independence from Britain and will lead us to independence from our own complacent idiocy. Perhaps the concerned voter of today would better serve by discussing these things with their coworkers and friends.
The reason why I emphasize the importance of social interactions in my previous paragraph is this. Local and state governments are losing power. I state this as a matter of opinion based on a small amount of research and observation. What happens when the federal government begins instituting a health care program, retirement program, gasoline credit program, house credit program, etc...? These policies and procedures are influenced to some degree by our local governments. However with time these programs become almost entirely controlled by federal regulation which our voting power has less effect on. Let's take for example federal income tax. Who get's the largest portion of the taxes on your paycheck? If your answer was the federal government you share the plight of most Americans. Social Security is another example. I pay into a well known mismanaged and unsustainable system that was implemented at the federal level. If this continues how long will city and state governments be necessary beyond acting as enforcers for federal legislation. If this trend continues the concerned population must begin interacting and organizing into a voice that can be heard by federal government in order to effect change. The point I am attempting to make is this. Local politics has it's place and importance based on our support or the lack thereof. If indeed change is a process brought about at a "local level" we must be aware of the changes in the power and scope of our local and federal governments. Thoughts anyone?

Welcome to Natastica!

Ah welcome friends. It's been awhile since I got into the blogosphere. I'm sure you've all missed me as much as I missed you. Let's start with a little update to wet your whistle. First and foremost; I am well on my way to not being a royal moocher due to my recent change in employment status. After my extended vacation from doing anything I have now returned to the ranks of the eight to fivers. My new workplace at Texas Tech will give me the opportunity to mentor and manage Tech students. While the actual job duties are far less technical than I initially expected I am eager to gain management experience. I will bring a reign of oversight that has not been seen in years. I will fire students at a whim and instill a righteous fear that will inspire my underlings to follow me into the darkest realms of user incompetence and executive entitlement. As far as my personal life goes I am afraid that there is very little to report. My recent acquisition of another year in addition to the 24 I previously owned has weighed me down to a greater degree than I expected. I find myself on the fence of those two backyards known as twenty and thirty. Unfortunately there appears to be some sort of drought as all the grass in these lawns is brown. However I think there may be some rain on the horizon. The latest big news actually includes two other individuals. Ethan, Rob, and I will be moving into a house soon! Soon being the beginning of December and house being my residence for the first 18 year's of my life. Congrats to all involved and wish us luck in attempting to sift through the vast treasure trove of miscellanea (word? yes! the spellchecker corrected my spelling) that is stored there. As we gear up for the upcoming holiday I find myself frequently looking forward to the various family members that will be passing through and/or staying in Lubbock. Not to mention a certain someone we all know gettin himself hitched. So basically we all engorge ourselves over thanksgiving to the point where we deform our wedding outfits in celebration of Dad and Janet's commitment to each other.
At this point I have exhausted my updates section. The good news for you is that I have other thoughts on my mind today. Prepare to be completely and utterly mindnumbed by my paragraph of politically oriented boredom. With the recent election and widespread renewed interest in politics. I found myself likewise swept up in the frenzy of sudden fascination. I have noticed that now that it's popular in the news it appears that the majority of people I know have come to the conclusion that they either A. have the expertise to be a professional political analyst or B. are incapable of understanding what's going on but enjoy regurgitating what they have heard on TV just to be social. I find that it is not particularly difficult to raise a few pointed questions and move people from group A to group B. I have been slightly dismayed but more depressed by the rampant ignorance that appears to motivate the voters of this nation. As I previously indicated a very short interrogation of many people will lead them to saying something similar to "Obama is gonna get me a bigger tax cut" or "NOBama! What kind of American would vote for a Muslim!". Frankly I fear for our nation. There is a very real urge to blame the representatives currently leading our nation for the problems we face. After seeing the rampant chosen ignorance of American voters I must conclude that the real issue is our own complacent idiocy. I ask those who say that our government does not represent our people to reconsider their position. As a majority do we really care that much about who governs us? Honestly I see a hoard of people who simply want their everyday routine to continue. They have little knowledge or concern for the processes that make the life they live possible. They are the sheep in the back of the herd. They see their fellow sheep near them moving and they follow ignorant as to who the shepherd is and what agenda he maintains. Speaking of leaders. We have a new president-elect. I was not surprised or particularly disappointed when Obama was announced the campaign champion. I had no desire to express my support for either candidate therefore I abstained from voting. Surprisingly my vote would have made absolutely no change in the presidential race as Texas was won by McCain by a significant margin. Back to Obama. I disagree with his entire perception of the purpose of government. I heartily rebuke his appeals to creating a fair America that will meet the wants of our ignorant entitlement syndrome. Life is not fair. People who don't have much in life realize this tragic truth and do their best to get by. "But America is the land of the free and here anyone can become anything they want to be, Right?" People say this and what they mean is. "We give money to the poor so they don't have a disadvantage." Sadly government programs do not appear to be giving all these families on welfare a "fair shake". But by all means let's see if Obama can fix it by throwing more money at them. I hope Obama has a more detailed and properly researched plan but I retain a large measure of incredulity. I could expound further but I will restrain myself. While I take the easy road in this matter by ridiculing the issues I must remind myself to practice constructive criticism. We know our current government is filled with inefficiencies and errors. If this is the case we should provide alternative solutions based on our knowledge, experience, or in my case fairly biased and unresearched opinion. To begin the discussion I have several ideas that I believe would be beneficial. Renovate our economic system. Our current system of fiat currency (currency backed by the nation printing it) is largely based on the perception of the stability, power, and production of our nation. This leads to a vicious cycle of inflation during recession and lacks sustainability. Based on my extensive wikiresearch, which makes me an expert, I believe that representative currency (currency backed by an actual tangible resource) would allow for an economic system that can regulate itself more effectively through supply and demand. This is merely one of my many brilliant solutions I have come up with. I know there are many others who read this blog that have far more experience and knowledge financially and politically. I would love to hear some ideas on how to create a better government. Let's begin the comment stampede.