Vote, Dammit!

Pardon the bit of rambling herein, and the fact that I probably shoulda posted this a day sooner.

This isn't the usual 'fun with scammers' stuff. Just a tad of commentary. Like it or not, it's what I think and what I see, and I stand by every last syllable of it.

Election Day, 2010. I don't know if it's the most important election in my lifetime, though it certainly is the most important in this young century. The first election I could vote in was 1976, and that was a pretty significant milestone. And I haven't missed a major election since, so I reckon I've made my voice heard on a few significant moments in electoral history.

True, I haven't always been happy with the results. But that wasn't as important in the larger scheme of things, as was the fact that I exercised my God-given, Founding Fathers-designed, and defended by our men and women of the US Military, right to vote. That was what was truly important. That was a right that's been paid for, time and again, by the blood of the guarantors of our freedoms to continue to be the greatest nation on Earth. And just as we have right along, we owe it to them -- currently on the firing line in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as elsewhere -- to make wise, judicious, educated use of the rights they're paying a price to defend for us to have.

Too many folks take that right -- and that sacrifice -- for granted. At times in the past, including me. Too many don't do their homework before making their choices; they let partisan ideology be their guide.

Others bitch and moan a good deal about what's going on, but when it comes to vote....they don't bother. "Doesn't matter" or "won't make any difference" is frequently their excuse to pass on national, regional, state and local decision-making, decisions that effect their lives, the economy, their national defense, their health and welfare.

And that of their kids, and future generations.

For those so-minded, they get EXACTLY what they deserve, especially when they're unhappy with the result.

Today's Congress -- sporting one of the lowest approval ratings in modern history -- sucks. And yes, it's the fault of every last member on the Hill, whose forgotten the oath they took when they were first elected, and ever since.

But it's the greater fault of the voters, who have allowed this Congress to become one of the worst in our history. WE have the power; and too many of us DON'T EXERCISE IT. Hence, how we wind up with just what we deserve: a crap salad, on wry.

Pun intended.

Those of you who've read this blog the past five years, know where I stand, politically. Agree or not, you should at least agree that we, the voters, are responsible for making our elected leaders accountable for their actions, and holding their feet to the fire. Too many of us allow them off the hook, and "vote for the devil we know", rather than a voice of change. Too many of us let a partisan, no-longer objective media, try to shape our opinions, rather than demand truth in journalism, as well as in politics.

Currently, the Tea Party is trying. But, like any political movement, it is not united. Nor is it always right. But at least in 2010, they have flexed their electoral muscle, leaving party and media elites on both sides, flummoxed.

At any rate, and just as in years past, I have exercised my right to vote. A right I owe to God, the Founding Fathers, and the US Military who -- rightly or wrongly sent forth to the far frontiers by a civilian government that doesn't always know what the hell it's doing -- have paid for me to have the right I owe it to them to exercise.

So do each one of you.

But don't just go and pull a lever for an (R), a (D), or some other party affilation. Take some time, do some research, ask some questions, and START HOLDING ELECTED OFFICIALS AND MEDIA PUNDITS RESPONSIBLE. There is no excuse to sustain a crooked politician, term after term, because you're afraid a new person will be worse. There was a time in this country that honesty, ethics, and integrity meant something. When our elected leaders are allowed to abandon theirs, when our media pundits can sell theirs....why should we expect upcoming generations to have something they're not being taught by their mentors?

Words mean things. Actions speak louder than words. Say what you mean, mean what you say. Honesty, ethics, integrity. Credibility. Responsibility. Accountability. Love of God and Country.

Time we got back to that.

In parting, I hear the pundits suggesting the Republicans and some Tea Party candidates stand to turn Washington back from the direction it took in January, 2007. Speaking just for me, I will be watching how they do. I will hold them as responsible in '12, as I am holding my elected officials here in '10.

If the rest of you will do the same -- to paraphrase a Who song -- we needn't be fooled again.