It's not a hobby, it's a privilege.

Here I go on another rant. Lately I have been seeing a few campaign signs popping up around town. The signs around town are all the same people who have been running for the same office practically every term. Lots of them are running for re-election or currently in an office but are running for another office. Most of them don't really seem like they make too much impact on our daily like. Inez Peace has been our county treasurer for as long as I can remember. I'm not even sure what all of the county offices are, I suppose that's something we didn't cover in civics or at Girls State. What really astounds me is that I have only seen several Re-elect Dan Boren signs up and one Jim Wilson sign (both Dems) for US Congress. Not really a huge deal except primaries are in a week. I had no idea who was even running as a republican. Once I realized this, I went on Google and searched who all was actually going to be on the ballot next Tuesday. For one, I had no idea primaries were next Tuesday, if I didn't Google it I would have never known. So that means that your average Tahlequah citizen neither knows or cares that there is an election going on. What average citizen even takes the time to Googles their candidates? More Americans vote for American Idol and Dancing With the Stars than they do for the President, let alone smaller elections. Ridiculous.

Our founding fathers did not come over here to passively end up with a leader. They fought hard for the power of the people to chose their leaders. Does anyone really understand when they mean when they tell us to thank the troops for  fighting for our freedoms? No one cares if their freedoms are slowly being taken away. No one really understands that they can chose who their leaders are, no one really understands that if they don't like the leader that is currently in power, they can work to change it. As long as their food stamps are renewed every month, the unemployment check is directly deposited in their bank accounts, Cherokee Nation gives them a place to live, and they can go to Hastings to pop out their babies for free, Cherokee county is happy.

My interest in politics is by no means entertainment for myself, it's actually quite frustrating. It's not a hobby, it's a privilege. Unlike many other countries, we are not designed to have some power hungry monster just take over power without anyone's say in it. Power hungry monsters are put in power in our country by the small percentage of people who do get out to vote. Now lets think about how many people actually vote for someone because they themselves believe in them. How many people go out and just do a straight ticket to whatever party they are registered under. How many people vote for whoever is more attractive, has more money, appears on MTV, is endorsed by your favorite celebrity, the list goes on and on. I'm blaming the entire system for this one. We're are not educated in school about our country anymore, history books twist the events of the past, civics classes seem irrelevant when they are actually very relevant, it is not being stressed to vote, and there is no encouragement to establish your own personal values, ethics, morals, and opinions. Think about it, what do you believe in?

I know this isn't a fun topic or one that anyone cares to discuss, but I think Americans would be happier with their country and their leaders if they actually played a role in it like it is designed. At this point, I don't even care if you have different political views than I do, I just urge you to have a view on it. Ignorance is what gets societies into trouble, stop being ignorant. I don't believe that I have any more resources than any of you out there. Take advantage of the free resources around you. Go expand your mind on something.

That is all for now, until next time..