We have our parents generation to thank for the future that awaits us. The economic uncertainty stems from more than just the Bush years, the seed was planted when the government began deregulating banks and corporations during the 60s and 70s. The 80s and 90s were the beginning of the end of American dominance, when the government turned a blind eye to corporate corruption because it was reaping the rewards of a booming economy and there's no need to recap what's happened the past few years. America is in debt and we're going to be left with the bill, and it's a huge one.
What happened to this country where we can grow up to be whatever we want to be? What happened to the perpetual prosperity that we were supposedly blessed with? Well, those days are over, if they ever existed at all outside of American folklore. The America that we will be presiding over when it's our time to take the reins, will be a far cry from the country we were promised. Our time at the top is over, the last generation has made sure of it. As a country, we became so arrogant we felt there were jobs that were below us, so the corporations sent them over seas. We wanted cheap material goods, but American companies weren't in the business of making cheap goods, we need oil to power our economy but decide to get it from somewhere else, so we imported billions and billions of dollars worth of goods from other countries, however we decided to only export a fraction of what we were bring in. To the surprise of those in charge, spending more money than we made for the past few decades seems to have caught up to us.
As the baton gets passed to us, we must find a way to reverse the course we are on. The problem is, how exactly do we find a way to get this done? Theoretically, we should be able to make the necessary changes through our centuries old, time tested democratic system. Unfortunately for us, if nothing drastic changes in these next few years, we will have two choices to choose from, a democrat or a republican. After witnessing what has taken place during my young life, I can't help but feel both these parties will run us into the ground. The 2010 elections are coming this November and it is panning out to be a landslide victory for the Republicans, I hope you enjoyed running the government these past few years Democrats because it looks like your position as the majority is over. Not that it will change anything, the Democrats couldn't push through a meaningful piece of legislation while they owned the "super majority" in congress anyways. The most amusing part of it all is that they are going to be replaced by the same people who we were so unhappy with a year and a half ago that we voted in nothing but Democrats. So what does that mean for us? Just more of the same.
Each generation always wants to improve from their parents generation, it's not a new phenomenon. The past few generations have done a tremendous job of keeping the status quo in this country, that is a mistake that we cannot afford to make. The system as it is today is run by special interests who have their hands in all the politicians pockets. With the Supreme Court's recent ruling that money=free speech, enjoy trying to make your voice count as much as Bank of America's or Chevron's. These are the forces that have brought our country and our people to its knees. Now one may argue that these corporations have a right to have a voice in general elections since they employ so many Americans, however, we must realize that all of these corporations have only one moral obligation and that is to their share holders. Should an entity with such a narrow interest be able to hold sway in elections that are meant to advance the common good of the country's citizens? I say no. Our politicians speak about the common good, but they only serve those with the narrow interests and this is a problem that will not solve itself and will only get worse as time goes on.
Democrats and Republicans have been compromised. They cannot be trusted. We must disband this two party machine if we ever want true progress to be made. It's time for us to realize that we don't HAVE to vote Democrat or Republican, in a democracy we're allowed to have more than two choices and really should. Each year a new politician comes out campaigning for the little guy saying he/she will take on the special interests in Washington only to go and do exactly what they said they wouldn't. A new party must become a legitimate threat to put pressure on Dems and Reps so they will be forced to become accountable for their failures. Our generation must be the one that makes this happen. We know this system is broken and we are smart and resourceful enough to fix it, but we must take a stand and let our government know that we won't be made pawns to their political game anymore. How many times can you try to draw water out of a dry well before you realize that there's no water in it? Well our parents have tried over and over and look where it got us. I feel that it is our moral obligation to make sure that this ends when it is our turn to take control or else we will be dooming future generations to relive our mistakes. So everyone out there who wants real change, it is time to stop compulsively voting Democrat or Republican or else your voice will never really matter. Congratulations Green party, you have my vote from here on out, or at least until a party that actually represents the people's needs makes a move towards power.
