A journey from youthful idealism to aged political reality.

When I was much younger than I am today I was an idealist as so many young people are.I believed in the system and in the american constitution as I still do,at least the constitution.However during my youth and into adulthood I mistakenly thought I could use the system to change the things in government that I thought were wrong or could be better.


I started out researching candidates at election time and seeing which ones would be worth my vote.I then voted for the candidate whose platform came closest to what I thought was right, believing that was the proper way to acheive the goals I would have liked to acheive.This way was a complete failure.These politicians proved to just be saying what they thought the people wanted to hear and had their own agendas that had nothing to do with their platform.This was my first wake up call.

I gave my next approach a great deal of thought.I continued to dig a little deeper into the rhetoric of my chosen candidates.I started to see a pattern.They would parrot whatever the party line was regardless of what they may have believed.Good little party shills.This was my second wake up call.

I decided to attempt a new approach.I started to approach my elected representatives by writing letters and phoning their office to express to them the things I thought were important.I was greeted by secretaries who told me that the selected politician was too busy to speak with me and thank you very much for calling.My letters were answered by form letters thank you very much blah,blah,blah.Never once right from the first call and letter did I ever get to talk to anyone of my representatives.Wake up number three.

I started to pay attention to the younger elected officals in the different levels of government.Some of them were from monied families many were not.However something caught my attention.They entered office with an average amount of money.The salaries for their positions couldn't make them wealthy and yet a couple of terms in office and they were suddenly very well off.This is when I discovered lobbists.

Now I wanted to know just why my representatives were isolating themselves from the very people they were elected to represent.I began to talk to people in my area about who they liked as their representative and why.To my great suprise most of the folks I talked to didn't even care for the most part about who got elected.Most told me they're all the same so what difference does it make who gets in.I was shocked,but most of these people were older than I so I figured that they were jaded.I couldn't have been more wrong.

These folks already knew what I was learning.For the most part the politicians don't care about the people who elected them until it's election time again.Then they will say what they think you want to hear to get reelected again so they can get the lobby graft.In the first world you can protest till you're blue in the face and they won't care cause they caused the problem you are protesting against in the first place.The lobbiests payed them for the creation of the problem that you don't like.

So that was my journey to where I am today.I no longer vote.I see no point.I can't afford what the lobby people can.I don't bother with calling or writing representatives anymore I already have enough form letters.I no longer speak out at town meetings .They will just pass bad changes and I'm tired of trying and getting ignored.I tried for 38 years to effect change by using the system.It's broken and doesn't work anymore.So I pass this mess on to the young people I'm sorry it's like this, I tried.

reply to post by lonegurkha


I believe that's what some farmers were saying when George Washington and his men were trying to get people to fight against tyranny. The farmers knew there was no way to win against the mighty red coats that ruled the world then. But history proved such farmers wrong. And many of them had sacrificed their lives to prove you, this generation wrong.

Your vote and your 1st Amendment right is sacred. That is power in your hands.

You feel tired because you are thinking individually. You and I individually have no power to move mountains. But when combined, along with our families, relatives and friends, we can level mountain chains in time. So don't work alone. Talk, discuss, debate amongst your loved ones and act on the results.

With yours and mine combined powers and rights, we can get the right legislatives to act, or be impeach with evidences if they failed.

TPTB wants you to be alone. For alone you are an easy target. Unity is strength, so don't give up, even if you are eighty years old. It will be for our future generations sake and we must not fail, as our forefathers had not failed us.

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101


You are making the mistake of comparing voting in a rigged system to taking up arms to oust a dictator. Democracy cannot and will not fix itself. That is why the founders set up a republic. Voting is not as sacred as you think. There is a reason why democracy is not mentioned in the Constitution. Most things voted on today were not allowed to be considered for a vote when the country was functioning as a free republic. It has now morphed into an oligarchy masquerading as a democracy niether of which is desirable. One is just a group of dictators, the other is Mob rules where the 51% get to oppress the other 49%.

reply to post by lonegurkha


I have to agree with you mine has been a similar journey. I do see some value in someone like Ron Paul running for office if for no other reason then educating more people on what a sham the current system is. I have accepted I have to live in this world with millions of others and the collective mindset sets the tone for society so I try to work with what I have. I will promote Ron Paul but I will not vote or give money to any political campaigns anymore. The More people that see someone like Ron Paul get railraoded in the system the more people will wake up.

reply to post by hawkiye


Thank you for your reply.You can see what I see and I appreciate the validation.I love this country with all my heart.I always have.My family served in the armed forces I was not physically able so I set out as a youth to do what I could to make America a country we all could be proud of.That was my goal when I was young.I worked with groups and individually to try to improve things,and after all that work very little changed.The politicians were still on the take and still ignored the people.Recently I saw the rap sheet of congress I wish I could find it I would post it.There are more criminals in congress than I could even imagine.I mean literally criminals,drug convictions ,bribery ,theft, I'm not talking traffic fines here.I support Ron Paul however I worry about what the criminals will do to him.

reply to post by lonegurkha


Education is the key!


There is a strategy and blueprint for NON-VIOLENT resistance to tyranny all laid out this book by Gene Sharp

"From Dictatorship to Democracy" it was used by the Egyptian youth to topple the regime. Everyone needs to download it and read it. It's a free PDF.

While it is aimed at dictatorships many of it's strategies could be used on Americas elected oligarchy of non responsive politicians.

www.aeinstein.org...

Also I created a thread about it and am in the process of reading the book and will post an analysis when I am done. So far I like what I am reading.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Well you could always do what the Greeks are doing, and thats throwing petrol bombs at the cops. Nothing quite so clearly demonstrates social unrest like a petrol bomb into a coppers face.