The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.
John F. Kennedy
I found this quote and I used in my blog yesterday and it provoked a number of thoughts it me. The truth of this statement struck me as something we should all think about it. That is why it is highlighted in my blog today. There are many things active citizens need to do. You need to be informed, share your opinion, get involved, vote, and pay attention to what is being said and question if it is true.
Here are some ideas and examples where lots of questions need to be asked:
• If someone from White House says something, you must consider the source from where it came from.
• All politics are influenced by those providing money to the campaign chests of our elected official. You need to remember that money often speaks louder than the needs of the people. That is just the facts.
• Always consider the source, is a basic law of being an informed citizen
• If you have a business group financing a research project you have to look at the built in bias of the research.
• If you have the oil or power companies finance a project to assess global warning than it will produce the results it wants, which is to say there is no global warming.
• When I looked into the problems at Walter Reed Hospital and the awful conditions for the veterans, I found a subsidiary of Halliburton in charge. The Army did not want to give up control of their hospital but the White House insisted. VP Cheney is the former CEO of that company.
• In 2000, 2004, and 2006 there has been irregular voting results that look like something fishy was going on and all of these problems have been ignored. Al Gore won the election in 2000 and all the post election vote counts found that to be true but because of the manipulation of votes we have had a nightmare of a presidency.
• Federal oversight has all but disappeared during this administration. It is as if no one is watching out for the people.
• Congress has just rolled over to the biggest executive power grab in the history of the US government. Bush has basically been unchecked and there has been no accountability.
• Banking, energy, drugs and insurance companies have had a hay day during this administration as if no one cared at all about the people.
• There is one thing for sure in D.C., there is lots of talk, lots of posturing but is there really government going on that is concerned about what is for the common good. The answer appears to be “No.”
• Nightly network news is about sensationalism and a corporate agenda, not about presenting objective news and information. Much of news has become opinion with a heavy bias. Think Fox news, which is based on a clear slant of the network. The liberal press does not exist. It is in fact the corporate press.
• How come 5% of the people have 90% of the wealth in this country? Does that seem right to you?
* Do you remember we had a budget surplus when this administration came in to office and now we have a huge debt and the President says the war he started has nothing to do with the economy. Who should be held responsible for the mess that has been created?
There are many more examples and only a dedicated citizen takes the time to search for the truth. If we are not all dedicated than our future is left up to those that want to buy influence and there is lots of money around to do that. Who has benefited most from the economy over the last 8 years of this administration? The answers is, if you don’t already know, those that have money and influence.
I am just stirring things up and inviting you to be an active citizen. Even if we don’t agree on candidates, you and I must take a look at the dysfunction of our system of government. If you don’t see anything wrong, than it is time to look beyond the talking points, the misinformation, and the endless so-called expert opinion, much of which has no value at all.