I must say I’m impressed, they got the deal done, even if it was like pulling teeth and they waited until the last minute. But hey, who out there is opposed to a little procrastination now and then, particularly when the only thing at stake is our already shaky financial standing nationwide and across the globe.
Regardless, the debt ceiling has been raised, which is, I suppose, a good thing, when you get right down to it. The problem, however, is the way in which this “monumental” feat was accomplished (a little sarcasm, considering its been raised countless times before, without the uproar, I might add). You know, more bipartisan bickering, from both sides of the political fence. And with Republicans (especially those of the tea-flavored variety) still calling for our president’s head on a platter, trust me, this isn’t going to change anytime soon (although I wish to God it would).
It’s almost funny, but sometimes I think our government’s system of checks and balances could use a little less checking and a little more balancing. Just saying.
I especially liked President Obama’s response following this latest of near-disastrous collapses, particularly when he said Americans “didn’t need Washington to come along with a manufactured crisis.”
Considering my pursuit of the perfect the oxymoron lately, I just had to laugh. Who – in their right mind – attempts to “manufacture” a crisis. Then again, in the murky world of American politics, this makes perfect sense.
And then, my absolute favorite, when Obama went on to say “voters may have chosen divided government, but they sure didn’t vote for dysfunctional government.”
And yet, that’s exactly what we have, isn’t it? A government that is now of the politician (or the rich) by the politician (the wealthy corporations) and for the politician (who get an unbelievable number of lifelong benefits for their services, such as they are).
Personally, I’m tired of the entire debacle.
It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I finally understood what my parents meant by, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.” What can I say, I’ve always been more than a little vocal in my opinion of our political system (and its continued failures). Yet in this day and age, it’s beginning to seem like our vote means less and less. Politicians across the board make unlikely promises which you know they’re going to go back on at the first opportunity, and no matter how hard we try, it’s nigh-impossible to keep this sort out of office.
Is it really all that surprising, though, considering it takes an astounding amount of wealth to run for any position of political power these days? And I find is astonishing that people countrywide fail to see the inherent disparity which ensues when a wealthy upper-class is holding the reins. Money does strange things to people, but, in the vast majority of cases, those who have the most to lose not only cling to it the tightest, but rarely see the benefit of a level playing field.
It’s a perfect example of that classic adage – the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. Which is why, in my opinion, we will see little in the way of change when it comes to politics in the 21st century. It’s simply not in their (the politicians) best interest to allow the American people to (gasp) have a say of any kind when it comes to decision making on any level – country, state, county, city, town or village.
And speaking of that local level, what do you think is going to happen when these spending cuts start making their way to the small communities that represent the heart and soul of this country? While I don’t have any type of definitive answer to that question, I can tell you this much – I’m truly scared for our younger generations, who will be forced, at some point in the near future, to deal with the repercussions of our ignorant, selfish, greedy, power-hungry way of doing things.
And we wonder why they seem so aloof, so detached, much of the time. Why wouldn’t they?

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