I’m not a Republican or Democrat. I do tend to vote for liberal policies and candidates, but I also want our money spent wisely and am fairly fiscally conservative. I consider myself a moderate and a realist. I’m almost always able to see “both sides” of an issue, even if I don’t agree with one or either of them.
I also consider myself a good human. We’re all stuck on this planet together and literally have nowhere else to go. If we kill each other or destroy the ability to sustain life on Earth, the planet will still be here. So if we’re going to survive on this planet, we have to live and work together … despite our differences.
Which is why the current state of the US government boggles my mind. The two main political parties are so concerned about grabbing power (and money) that they pay no attention to the citizens, ethics, and morals.
The impeachment trial vote happened in the Senate (yesterday as I write this) and, as expected, was completely along party lines with the exception of one, lone Republican voting to remove the President from office.
As I stated, I completely expected those results. But that doesn’t mean it stings any less. In a real, functioning government we wouldn’t have had straight party line voting. Some Democrats might have voted for the President and some Republicans might have voted against the President.
But they didn’t. They cow-towed to their party leaders despite the truth and despite their own ethics and beliefs. I’m not mad at them, I’m just disappointed.
Note: The House of Representatives vote of impeachment was also along party lines and just as frustrating.
Anyway, if we want this situation to get better, we have to vote. It is currently the only lawful means we have to hold our elected officials accountable. Just over half the voting population actually voted in 2016. The people in power aren’t going to change the electoral college system because it works for them. So the only way to make it work properly is to get more people to vote.
Urge people to vote. Share the voter registration links. Volunteer in your district. Do whatever you can to get more people to vote. It’s not a representative democracy if the elected officials only represent 55% of the voting population (some may say it’s not representative at all).
How to Register to Vote: https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote