Voting is important; they are supposed to speak for us

Most politicians at the national level have proven to be vindictive, greedy, self-centered, and more involved in their own political future than in that of the country or their own constituents.

The politicians that are supposed to represent us don’t care what we think. Just write a heartfelt letter or call your congressman or senator to see how little they care what you think. Responses come in the form of mass-produced form letters that often times aren’t even seen by the addressee. Responses are handled by their staff and it is up to these unknown, unelected employees, who answer our questions or respond to concerns.

When I have been able to interact with my representatives, I’ve found the general attitude to be annoyance, as if the public is in the way, a barrier to their getting their work done. And their work hardly focuses on the public good or what the public cares most about; it focuses on cash donors with the bottom line being their own election bid.

To me, the problem is that politicians are supposed to be public servants. They are our representatives that do the public’s business. They manage the country in which we live in the government that is of the people, for the people, and most importantly, by the people. Everything they do, they do in our name.

Being a Congressman or Senator is not meant to be a life-long career. That has to change and the solution is term limits.

Imposing term limits as a policy would not be an easy task, since lawmakers would have to support legislation that would put the good of the country over what has become a lucrative career path with corporate kick-backs, deal making, and oh, so many perks. It would take some very open-minded politicians, the likes of which we have not seen in decades, to propose legislation that would bring about term limits.

If term limits are not possible legislatively, we, the represented, have only one choice. We, the voters can impose term limits ourselves. We have the option every two years for Congressional Representatives and every six years for Senators, to vote them out! Voting is our only tool, so we must use it wisely.

Voting is our only option.

When voters get no response from their representatives, we must resign to get rid of them. When we learn that our representatives are not worthy of the office they hold, we must resign to get rid of them. If our representatives choose their corporate funding sources over our concerns, such as what we’ve seen in the health care debates, we must resign to get rid of them.

When candidates lie to our faces, such as the Republican candidates that claim they will protect pre-existing conditions at the same time they voted or sued to end this provision in our health care insurance, as outlined in this story, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/upshot/republicans-pre-existing-conditions-.html, we must resign to get rid of them.

There are new examples every day of dastardly deeds unbefitting a representative of our government. If this is as bothersome to you as it is to me, remember that we can change things. It will take some time, but eventually, our leaders will get the hint. If the makeup of Congress changes every two years, it will become clear that if our public figures don’t do their job or don’t do it on behalf of the people that put them there, then they must go.

There are times we will be forced to elect the lesser of two evils

The lesser of two evils is not as bad as it sounds. Sometimes, the two-party system advances candidates that we consider unappealing. Instead of simply voting for a partisan, which is done all too often, become an informed voter. Don’t look at the party; look at the individual who if elected, will speak for you. Study what the candidates stand for. Hear their message, which does not include the hundreds of “attack the other guy” ads being run by way too much money in the political system. Do your homework. There are so many resources available today, at your fingertips.

Voting is one of your most important obligations as a citizen of this country. You will choose the men and women that speak on your behalf in this and other parts of the world.

Tuesday is Election Day. Do your part to make this country a better place. Vote!