Ignore labels, hold them accountable
I have to wonder as I'm sitting watching the headlines, reading the newspaper and listening to talk radio: Does America have an adequate political system anymore? Do the Republicans or the Democrats have the answers for those people that find themselves politically affiliated? Are we at a crossroads in this country? I think we are.
As a people, we are tired of corruption regardless of which party the corrupt individuals are members of. Is it time to say the heck with both sides of the aisle and create a party that reflects our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, ethics and our morals? I get so tired of hearing the jokes about Illinois. We do deserve them, as we have allowed years and years of corrupt politicians to run this state and now we teeter on the brink of bankruptcy, and have no clear cut leaders that are "the good guys."
As we start to head toward the midterm elections, how do we choose the right person to vote for? Do we vote like so many people do, solely on party lines, or do we expect or even demand something more? Do we stand up and demand that these people work for us? That they answer to us, and need to be accountable for their actions? Do we sit here and whine about how this party did this, and that party did that? So many people had hopes that this country would be unified by the new president. Instead, what I see is that people toss insults back and forth, if someone does not support Obama, they must be a racist. If someone does support Obama, they must be mindless drones that spend too much time swooning and gushing over him to see what he is really doing. Yes, I have been one of the people seeing his supporters as mindless drones. I am just as guilty as everyone else of seeing this country using the "It's us and them" mindset. I grew up during the Cold War, we knew who our enemies were. Now they don't match the political comics I saw growing up.
Our biggest enemy is right here, each time we all stare in the mirror. It's named: Anger, Ignorance, Fear. Either we get it together and force our government to answer to us, to get past the partisan politics, or even create a third political party to keep the other two in line. Yes, it's an extreme idea But perhaps if both Democrats and Republicans were to see that we have another group that will answer to us, and represents our best interests, maybe they would either clean up their acts or get out of the way.
Susan McCracken
Vernon Hills