What Happened to Our Government

It seems as I look at our elected officials in washington and at the state level more and more, not with disgust (although that happens quite frequently), but with disappointment. Why? Because they are acting more and more like children. When was the last time we heard a civil discourse? When was the last time we went a week without our elected officials calling each other names?

I am disappointed because other countries have historically looked to America as a shining example of what to do. If we go back to our early days, yes there were insults, but people looked down upon others that refused to remain civil. We have stories of presidents and former presidents going at each other's throats in debate and yet maintaining a level of respect and dignity that the office demanded.

I am even more disappointed because the loss of respect and dignity is merely an indicator of our society. We no longer respect each other's opinions. We no longer appreciate differences. It seems as though we must be a plain jane country in order for us to get along. You know what, that is an awful awful place to be. The ability to work within our differences is what made America great. The respect and admiration of our differences is what made America America.

Yet, with the greed of power and money and our own inflated opinions of ourselves, we have lost that, and it shows in DC, in our state and at our local governments.

This is why I refuse to be a part of either of the two major parties. I like hearing people's differences. I apprecite the value system underlying the differences and I know the importance of taking differences into account.

I am a free thinker. I am an independent. I am a moderate. I am a Whig.