I've tried to avoid the political, but I'm afraid this time I can't. Living in Virginia's 5th District, I have seen quite a bit of Venom lately-- from the politicians and from the citizens. Our lame duck representative seemed to seal his fate by voting in favor of the Obama health care plan. Across the country, the people voiced disapproval of the current Democratic leadership in Washington. Let's face it, things aren't going very well right now.
I found out that on average, the President's party loses 3 Senate seats and 34 House seats in mid-term elections. Of course, there have been some real outliers to skew this average, but I'm young enough to remember big losses for both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Already we have a President posturing for cooperation and an opposing party, claiming the mandate of voters, expecting to turn back the policy of the last two years. Sounds like 1994 all over again, and just like 1994, the President will weather the storm. If the incoming party succeeds in bringing change, the voters will resist and if they fail to make progress, the voters will voice frustration with more of the same.
We continue to have faith in a system that is flawed. I don't think that we should give up on it, but I think that we need to be careful that we don't let ourselves become flawed by the system. We provoke each other to anger and attack individuals, neglecting their humanity. We expect too much from our leaders and in turn suffer from frustration. Obama did not create the ills that we face today, and he did not even make them worse. The new Congress will not make them any better.
I will continue to make my voice heard, and encourage all to do the same. I even engage in political discussion (some may call it debate), but please understand that as long as our choice is Democrat and Republican we are essentially arguing the same position. The sun will rise, the sun will set.
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