Earlier I made a Facebook post about this so I thought I would expand on that and write this blog. Keep in mind this is my opinion only. As everyone in the free world knows now, Obama is our President again. I am going to keep my personal politics out of the blog as much as possible, other than to say I am extremely frustrated with BOTH the Republicans AND the Democrats. I am not living in America right now, so in reality none of this affects me in a huge way. But, I am still American by birth and blood and always will be. Our country is in a bad place right now. Economy wise,health care,housing market, and the list goes on. I think everyone deserves a share of the blame. First and foremost of course is the greedy,selfish executives on Wall Street who just care about profit and nothing else. Next up for blame is the politicians who are basically the same. 99% of the people in Washington DC no longer care about the people of America. They care about themselves and their agenda's only. Of course the average American also has to take some blame as well. As a whole Americans have been so complacent letting ourselves get into this mess and we just keep spending money we don't have and running around being the world police.
America is changing with the times and our political system is not changing with it. America is now less white,freer thinking,gayer,more open minded, not everyone is a Christian,some people enjoy marijuana,prostitution,gay marriage and are open to abortion and gambling. Rather than trying so hard to prohibit all these things and fight so hard against them why not just relent and start making some money! We could responsibly regulate and tax many "sinful" things in America instead of fighting them. It would make it safer,more controlled and take the law of supply and demand away from Criminals. Our "War on Drugs" is a total failure. A consenting adult of sound mind and judgement, in my opinion should be allowed legally to be a gay pot smoking,gambling prostitute finding person if they so choose. As long as they are responsible,pay the proper amount of taxes and do these things legally and do not hurt anyone else while doing it.
My view may not be "mainstream" but I do think my view is gaining traction. Our government does not need to babysit us and control our entire lives. Adults are considered adults for a reason. They should be allowed to make their own choices. Gay marriage is not going to destroy the fabric of America. Canada and many other countries (including Colombia where I am living now) allow it and they are doing just fine. I do not do drugs of any kind but, if someone wants to smoke a little pot on their own personal time while doing no harm to anyone else and they pay for this pot legally I say go for it. Same goes for gambling and prostitution.
Which brings me to my next point. I am so happy to be from a country where we have the freedom to vote and to protest and worship any God we want without fear of being imprisoned or killed. I can say Obama sucks or Romney is a jerk and I do not have to fear for my life. We have no dictator, we are a democracy. Even if we are in a mess, I still believe America is the greatest country on Earth. But we need to make sure we stand up for these freedoms and don't take them for granted. Not every country in the world has these same freedoms and we need to be aware of that. The citizens should control the government NOT the other way around.
I am not sure how to feel about the Electoral College in America. On the one hand, every state gets representation in government. Each state gets a chance to "pick" their candidate. But, large states like California and Texas (55 and 38 electors respectively) can wield large influence over a state such as Montana that only has 3 electors. The presidential race is not won by the popular vote (vote of the average Americans) but by the "electors". So in reality the popular vote does not matter. The average person's vote does not matter because the electors while "usually" they vote in line with the popular vote they are not FORCED too. On the other hand, if the election was based solely on the popular vote that would mean a state like Texas which has 30 million people (roughly) could all vote Republican and a state like Montana which has only a few million (if that) could vote another way and it wouldn't matter. Basically the larger states could greatly influence the election one way or the other. But, in a way they do that now with their large portion of the "electors".
Basically I am saying I love America. I am American but things need to change. I sure hope my kids do not have to grow up with all this mess. That is all. Thanks for letting me express myself. I am so lucky to be able to write this blog without having to fear for my life. Even with all its problems America is still my birth country and the country I love. -Tyler
Traveling with Tyler is dedicated to anyone who wants to live outside of the box. Come enjoy the ride that is life with me.
Studying your electoral system at university, the strangeness of electors not being forced to vote in line with the popular vote really struck me. Together with the 'winner takes all principle' and the fact that presidential candidates are heavely 'sponsored' (bought?) by corporations, it's a system that does raise some questions in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your approach here (legalising pot, etc.), but I do 'resent' slightly homosexuality being put in the same phrase as drugs, gambling and prostitution ;-)
Nathalie, I was just trying to capture the "general American view" that homosexuality is lumped in with all those things. There are people in America who feel all of those things are equally "sinful"
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