“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
― Abraham Lincoln
It’s over. All the hype and hysteria; all the pathos and melodrama; all the lies and deceit: They are all history. And we are just about in the same place we were before. There is no mandate for change. The players stay in place and nobody seems to care about the fiscal cliff ahead or the dependency model that reelecting the President endorses. I don’t believe that the voters voted with their heads but it is what it is. The problem is what to do next.
Face the fire!
The country may be going to hell in a hand basket but more than 50 percent of the people who vote don’t seem to notice- or maybe they just like the warmer temperatures. Whatever the virtues of the American independence and can do spirit, they don’t seem to resonate with voters anymore.
Gurus always say that you can’t fix a problem unless you take ownership. Up until now I’ve been telling myself that the problem is those other people. I don’t have a problem. I have the right attitude and appreciation of our country and freedoms. Well, the truth is that if I don’t have a problem; if I didn’t have any responsibility for the sorry state our country is in then I don’t have a prayer for doing anything to change it. The only thing I can change is myself.
My Agenda is Clear.
I have been lazy. I have been complacent and self-indulgent. I didn’t do my part for the country I love and the result is revealed in the election results. I depended on somebody else to defend my rights and privileges and coasted through the campaign. It is my fault. I claim the failure and commit to fixing myself in order to be the citizen I need to be and correct our country’s course.
So forgive the gloomy tone today. I just needed to work through all my rationalizations and disappointment about the election and own up to my failure. Those blisters I’m sitting on are all my own. And if I want something to change, it’s up to me.
That is the best piece of work I’ve see from you, Ralph. I wish there was a way to make everyone read it.
Bob,
I guess I should confess my failings more often. Who knew?
Great text, there’s nothing to complain about, it’s already over, I really like your point on focusing the future and thinking responsible.
Thanks Dori,
I have some frustrations about our country but the best way for me to contribute is to participate and influence. Pointing fingers and complaining only make me look weak, ineffective and irrelevant.