America 2011

It's just flat out heartbreaking to watch your fellow citizens tear each other apart. They can't seem to realize neither of our political parties have any of their interests at heart. Most of our politicians are bought and paid for long before we ever get them to office. The Democrats have bent over backwards to help the wealthy and put in place legislation to destroy our social safety nets while the GOP has turned in to an organization that will hold their own government hostage to further their agenda. What hurts me the worst is the fact people are following these parties blindly , unquestionably and almost worship the leadership. I can't personally hate the everyday person on the right , most of these people are just ignorant and misinformed , it would be like getting upset with someone who has learning disabilities. Furthermore , the majority of people on the left are just as willingly ignorant , they have become mindless automations that cannot question their leadership.

We have reached a point politically in this country where we are divided in to two camps. Neither side can admit the failings of their own representatives. No one has the courage to point out the wrongs their own parties have committed against the average everyday citizen.The everyday citizen whether they be Republican or Democrat has to learn we are in this together. The people we have elected will be fine but we will not in the event of a breakdown in society. I am just frustrated and hurt that the people of this country are so blinded by hatred of each other , they cannot see who their real enemy is and that enemy is this corporate-government monarchy we all live under. What's your thoughts? Sincerely, Patrick

                    
   Furthermore we have no plan on how we are to begin tackling these problems we face. I have spent nearly , rather wasted , two years of my life on Facebook trying to get people involved in the political process. What I found was there are very few people who will think without prejudice , who will actually look at their own party and say , we are just as hypocritical as our opponent. Take the argument of Social Security as an example. How is it fair we require people to pay in to a program they do not agree with , something that goes against their own principles. Just as the right often wants to legislate morality , it would seem the left is just as guilty. You cannot change the fact people are greedy by screaming , Tax Them! That is not a solution. However , I have a solution.

  When a person comes of working age in this country , we should simply let them have the option to opt out of any program they do not agree with. All that is required is simply waiving your right to draw upon the Federal Government for any type of assistance over the course of your lifetime. This not only reduces the amount of people we have drawing upon such programs , it allows people the freedom to take those funds and invest them in ways they see fit. If a person has already paid in to such programs , we can simply refund them their money and let them go about their business. This not only increases spending by letting people have extra money in pocket , it takes the debate of so called "entitlement programs" off the table. By opting out of programs like Social Security , Medicare , Medicaid , people will then have the freedom to do what they please with the money they are making. This in no ways hurts the programs , the biggest problem we have right now is more going out than coming in. After some time , the programs will self correct based on the simple premise of interest gathered. Based on the political leanings of some of our retirees , we will no longer have the large payouts we have now to that generation and the upside is most of America's younger voters who hail from emerging demographics , actually favor paying in to the system. True reform.

  Federal programs such as Pell Grants , Veterans Programs , etc. , shall remain untouched. If we can no longer manufacture things in this country , we need to start manufacturing smarter people. I think everyone can also agree the people who serve our country in the military , should never be told they do not have access to proper medical care. Now , since I have brought it up we need to tackle the problem of defense spending. How much do we need , in what areas are we wasting money , how many more wars can the American Public afford to finance , these are important questions. From my estimation , we cannot afford to finance anymore. We are spending in the area of right around 300 million dollars a day to finance campaigns in places we have no real business being. I can understand the current administration's policy on involving more troops in Afghanistan , simply because the true terrorists , were  slowly taking over parts of Pakistan without having someone to fight. People seem to forget this fact when they complain about our involvement there. Pakistan has a nuclear option , that is something we do not need in the hands of an extremist regime. At some point there has to be an endgame. In any conflict , you should have a plan on an exit before you plan out an invasion. We do not seem to do that anymore. If you take Iraq as an example , there was never any plan on how we would deal with infrastructure nor did we have an exit plan. First of all , we should have never been there in the first place. That mistake alone has cost us somewhere in the neighborhood , by some estimates , of 3 to 4 trillion dollars. More debt which we do not need. Yet , we never seem to learn , now we are involved in Libya. More taxpayers money flushed away for no good reason. I would like to touch upon this momentarily.


  I have listened to a great deal of people on the left , some very good friends , tell me this is a humanitarian cause. When people die , the word humanitarian does not fit into the equation. I have listened as they defend this military campaign and still have the nerve to complain about Iraq. The right is no better , if a Republican president was bombing people on foreign soil right now , they would be all for such an action , regardless of the reason. The question for me becomes , what kind of freedom are you giving to a people when you are actively destroying their country. Well , you are giving them your own particular brand of freedom along with your social values and such that they may not have a lot of respect for. It is sad that the only time the American People can come together is when it is time to kill another people.