DIRTY POLITICS

Well, I hope that you all voted yesterday in your local elections. While I agree your vote is only one of many voices, it is YOUR VOICE. Any politician who wins by less of a margin that he/she thought there would be, will have to rethink priorities and causes, especially if they are planning on another election down the road. And… if YOU voted (I am addressing those of legal age to vote) then YOU have every right to complain or celebrate the election outcome.

 

What disturbs me every single year during the build-up to the elections are the political ads spread throughout the media — so many of the ads are attacks against the opponents rather than telling potential voters what the candidate himself is bringing to the table. I want to know what YOU (the candidate) bring to the table, what YOU plan to do for me, my town, and whatever level of government you are running for. There is so much misdirection.

 

Even worse than slamming your opponent(s) are the OBVIOUS ads where soundbites have been twisted and melded to create totally false statements which often show your opponent unfavorably. My husband and I were watching television the other night when a political ad came on – it had nothing to do with our state and we don't have any strong opinions about the candidate. HOWEVER, it was more than obvious that the alleged film clip was pieced together, and not very well done at that (the film "jumped" several times and each time the candidate's pose was slightly different!). The result had this candidate supposedly saying something that was NOT in the best interests of his constituents. Now I don't know if or what this candidate said about the subject, but the very fact that someone (an opponent) was outright lying would certainly have made me question if the opponent should even be running.

 

I've always made a habit of researching ALL listed candidates, using multiple sources, to learn a little about their history, their affiliations, and their character. I also look to see if the source of information is sponsored by someone with a political stake and therefore may be slanted. And then I go to cast my vote… and hope for the best.

 

I hope for all of you that the best candidates win. I hope that you will celebrate YOUR choices rather than regret why you voted that way. And mostly, I hope that all the winners will act like true winners and do their absolute best for all of their constituents, and most, if not all, will be satisfied with the results.

 

Throwaway Everything ~ #MondayBlogs

Those of us who were raised by parents who survived the depression era often received lectures about the necessity of being frugal, repairing things instead of replacing, and working around the little difficulties wherever possible. Most of today’s parents have always wanted to give our children more than we had, to never make them wear an older cousin’s hand-me-downs, to always get the favorite new toy advertised for the holiday season, and to accept and expect the seeming planned obsolescence of many consumable goods.

We can forgive the overindulgent parents who want to see their children happy and even feel for the parents who can’t afford the expensive IN toy their child craves. But still the concept of mending clothing or gluing household items back together is quickly being discounted more often than not. Under the umbrella term of decluttering some toss all “extras” whether it’s mail that comes in, newspapers, a chipped candy dish, or leftover food. Homes are bought not with the intention of building a life there but as stepping stones to the next bigger edifice to fit more possessions that will be tossed at some future point.

Is our throwaway society so strong an influence that we find it easy to discard previously memorable keepsakes like wedding gowns, heirloom candlesticks and old live letters between our parents? And has this ease to toss stuff out of our lives moved on to friendships, pets and even marriages? Young couples talk of pre-nups even in the “average” marriage; while there may be justification when family fortunes, corporations or children from a previous union are involved, isn’t signing a pre-nuptial agreement a little like planning to get divorced even before you say “I Do”? More and more couples who do hit rough patches look to put more distance between themselves rather than working things through (with or without therapists) and making the changes that could save their marriage.

Sometimes that article of clothing is beyond repair or totally unusable, and sometimes relationships need compromises that one or both won’t, or can’t, consider, but we need to learn when to hang on before we decide to let go. We have become so scared of being labeled hoarders that sometimes we resist sentimentality and even practicality. Life should have some attachments, there has got to be a better balance where we can decide something is worth fixing.

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