What are We Doing?

Each and every day, I find myself questioning my government. Not in a “I’m writing Congress” sort of way. More of a “I can’t believe they just did that”, type of thing.

I speak without regard for either party. It matters not to me whether they are a Republican or Democrat, or bless these poor souls, a lone libertarian or independent. It really does not matter, because I believe they have failed the people of these United States.

It’s sad to watch your representatives vote against (or for) something you explicitly asked them to vote for (or against), all the the while, disregarding your express wishes. You know that you emailed them. You received a letter in which they thanked you for your opinion, and kindly told you to mind your own business.

My frustration has become more apparent with the election of our current President. Barack Obama frustrates me. I don’t get angry with him, because obviously, not enough people showed up at the polls to keep him from being elected.

No, I get frustrated, because I watch him on a daily basis, do the express things that he said he would do, that I did not care for. Then, I watch the few things that I disliked in President Bush’s platform be upheld. These were the things Obama said he would get rid of: Gitmo, The Patriot Act, etc.

Oh, yeah….what about the 5 day cooling off period, so people can review bills before they are signed? I just don’t get it. This was supposed to be a transparent administration. Where’s the transparency? Not that Bush II wasn’t less than transparent, it’s just that he was kind of good at diplomacy…basic hospitality and such.

Diplomacy. This is what has really got my dander up. This week, Britain and Israel aren’t showing up at the nuclear summit that President Obama is throwing. That’s right. Our two oldest, democratic allies are AWOL from a conference only held every two years.

Israel is afraid that we are going to throw them like a piece of meat to some hungry, Middle Eastern nations. Britain is upset, and rightfully so, that we have treated them like the backwoods, less sophisticated cousin.

Relations with Russia have devolved substantially from what they were under the Bush administration, and now, they are taking full advantage of moving in cozy with our critics, one by one. So far, they have cozied up to Fidel Castro, sold weapons to Iran, and exchanged congratulations and strategic alliances with Venezuela’s Bolivarian President, Hugo Chavez.

That’s a far cry from Bush looking into Putin’s eyes, and seeing a friend, or his pleasant joking with Tony Blair.

All in all, we have issues here, and there are too many to even mention. The populace is completely divided over the direction of the country, unless they are acknowledging the state of America in general, which seems to be declining, regardless of which party you claim to back.

Again I ask, “What are they doing?” The answer seems to be “All the wrong things.” I’m not looking for what the Republicans say we need (Ronald Reagan II), or what the Democrats are looking for (FDR II). I just want a government that is responsible to the people that elected them, and to constituents who didn’t.

That, perhaps, we can all agree on.

Author Bio: Kurt Hartman wishes that he claimed no political affiliation. That would be untruthful. Instead of mentioning that, he will merely say that he works for a company that sells otr tires here at http://www.otrtiresupply.com . If you want to know more, you can read his blog, The Tire Pile.

Category: Politics
Keywords: obama, democrats, republicans, ronald reagan, bad ideas, congress, frustration