Sunday, March 6, 2016

Disappointment is part of life but not all of life (#2592)

     I have been wondering why there is so much voter apathy here in America. Looking back on my own life it seems to me that disappointment in the political process is a large part of why I failed to get excited about participating in our political process. It seems that so many things are "rigged" to negate popular sentiment while so few are willing to take on the powerful forces that keep the "rigging" in place. Well, I am one of those who fails to take on the powerful so I can hardly be disappointed in others for not doing what I am not doing. Despite my disappointment with the obstacles that keep us from a more direct democracy approach, I have little to no basis for not trying to make our system better.
     Disappointment is part of life and if I am going to abdicate my right to be part of the system altogether just because the system has flaws or is being used for non democratic reasons then shame on me for being weak and a quitter. The only tool we have to protect our democracy is our vote. Otherwise it is chaos or some other form of societal control with less rights than democracy provides us. There is no better form of self rule than democracy. There would be no taking part in deciding the future of our nation without democracy. So my only true option is to participate in our political process while changing it from within.
     Although I may be disappointed while participating I will at least be putting up a fight for not only what is better and right but I will be setting an example to all those who look to me for advice or counsel. There is no perfect world but there is the hope of giving ourselves a fighting chance to live a life with less disappointment. The struggle is there whether we fight back or not so why not fight back? If anything it makes you feel better about yourself and rekindles the passion in your soul that knows the difference between doing and being a good person and not doing and being a good person.

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