Eating a FAT elephant

I have to sympathize with Dorko on this one. Having lived outside the country...I would choose this one everyday of the week. There are HUGE evils associated with our way of living. But they are evils that I, myself, would choose over genocide (the Sudan), socialized healthcare (Canada), geographic constraints (crowding in Japan...South Korea), or corrupt governments (Mexico..."deporting" citizens instead of seeking reform.)

I do not label my position as pacifism or complacency...others may. I am not wired for these types of debates. Frankly, they don't light a fire under me like others may. I guess that's why there are so many professions...people are just interested in different things. I like to be informed...but I am not actively seeking reform. does that make me a substandard citizen? I don't believe so...I have focused my attention on another facet of society...how our bodies work and how to keep them healthy...equally important (or in many ways MORE important than politics..."if you don't have your health you don't have anything") and I find it stimulating and motivating.

Politics to me are a necessary part of life. I just see it as eating an elephant. Awareness of issues is enough for me. I vote. I have an opinion on key issues. I do not, however, choose to sift through the legislation in the country to find things I disagree with. There are things I disagree with at every turn. Each day I am confronted with moral, societal, governmental, and personal issues that conflict with what my ideal is. I don't want to be utterly fixated at every moment with everything that's WRONG in the world. And I TRULY believe when this administration is out of the White House and a new president is in who silences (oh but for a moment) the masses of critics...it will be just that...a moment. The idiosyncrasies of Bush will be a footnote to the garbage we will sling at the next Commander and Chief. It is the way of things here.

I vote for who I think is best. I try to be aware of my surroundings and make my voice heard when appropriate. I take care of who is in my charge. I try to excel at what I do in my little microcosm of the big, bad world. That's all I can do. If everyone was a crusader...there would be no one to take my money at the gas station, cook my spaghetti at the restaurant, clean my teeth, or remove the trash on the curbside. We all have lives...and opinions. I just stop amidst the mudslinging and faultfinding and wonder what it ever got us. The right to do it is undeniably important...but what do these truckloads of critiques ULTIMATELY get us? Now if Martin Luther King said that...then boy oh boy. But for little old me in Utah...I have found my role (as many others do) that happens to be well outside the formal political arena. I believe in the power of the vote. If I vote for the best person...then I believe that I have done my civic duty. The power of a positive attitude is very underrated... Unless you are a representative of constituents...then what does the rhetoric accomplish? Letters to the congressman, attending of town meetings, voting etc. (all of which I have done) are great avenues to participate in the political process.

Its a ridiculous thought...but the thought of me in the oval office crosses my mind. I firmly believe that with all the modifications I would make to the operation fo this country...I would also have sickening tides of criticism thrown my way. I feel bad sometimes for Bush. And to half the people who criticize him (myself included) I say, "Would you REALLY want his job...do YOU think you could do a better job." The popular, Jon Stewart-esque answer is, "of course." But if Jon Stewart (who, to me, embodies the ultimate cynic) were ever in the oval office...he would be so hated by so many people (differnet people than those who hate Bush).

I don't stand up for all of Bush's ideas or mannerisms. I just happen to think that he is the best we had during the last election (at least the American people thought so) and we should try to salvage what we can from a disaster of a presidential term. To me, its all in the attitude. Pick and choose what you like from the leader...that is SO important...but remember that the person is a person. Nothing is perfect...it never will be. There will ALWAYS be a deafening crowd who hates the way the government is working. But I am glad for checks and balances. I like the three branches of government. The Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence are incredible documents. I have seen the originals and have read them various times. I love freedom of speech. I love the way we can access any information we want through libraries and the internet. I love the diversity of our nation...the differing views that are expressed. I love the freedoms we enjoy. We don't have monopolies on these democratic principles...but our version is the best. Arrogance? No. Just gratitude.