Why We Vote / The Who & Floyd

What gets you? You know there’s something, something bright and shiny you cannot look away from. Something that thrills. Something that you are like a moth to a flame for.

…..see me…

It may be something as small as recognition, you know that “Good job” or “You rock” you never got as a child. The audience factor, whether at home, work or play. Do you love that moment your spouse says “WOW! You did GREAT!” Do you look to recognition in your community or even something as mundane as ratings online to reaffirm your worth?  Hell, you aren’t alone.

…feel me….

What gets you may be connection. That visceral feeling you have towards someone, that feeling of someone you would like to be. Often a celebrity or other you imagine to be “above you” your admiration seems warranted.  You forgive their faults without question, for you see in them yours, you see them rising above, as you have or wish you had. You compare yourself to their best, see kindred in their insights, their wit, their logic.  They are you, but a better you than you see yourself.  A perfect example of familiarity breeds contempt; distance makes the shiny stay shiny.

….touch me….

Does it get you when you are touched by humanity? When you see a soccer mom, a musician, an artist, a writer, a stutterer, a cowboy, a church goer?  Does it make you feel kindred?

We are all defined, to some extent by the roles we have in life. (given or by chance)  That familiarity of roles is one with which we can relate.

Seeking out people who may have had your experiences is natural.

………..heal me………….

The question is: “Heal What?”

See Me:

Your self-esteem cannot be healed with the approval of anyone outside yourself.

No friend, boss, blogger or politician can do it.

You can momentarily feel better for the recognition, but in the end, even if the President hugs you in a Photo-op, even if you become employee of the month, even if you get more hits than anyone on a blog…. you still will be a junkie for the next recognition until you come to peace with being who you are and liking yourself.

Feel Me:

I will not deny there are connections to others in life. You can imagine the person who writes the song is singing just to you, but for the most part its not true.

A candidate cannot be a soul-mate, no more than any celebrity. They may have the look, the body language, the angst or fire or driving part you recognize. But the similarity does not mean you can trust them.

Touch me:

A heart rending tale can breach anyone’s defenses if it has similar components to ones own tale.  Whether it be gender or race rising above, or a tale of overcoming poverty, addiction or handicap, it touches the heart. Those similarities while binding, do not connect everything.

We are all connected. Given true communication, each person can find this connection in some way with another. Its only natural.

We are back again to the question.  “Heal What?”

…Heal Me….

So what would you have healed?

Your ego, your need for friends, connection, similarity, kindreds?

What is it we are looking for to complete our lives?

Many things, perhaps all of these.

All in all another brick in the wall.

One thing I do know. No politician will give you these. No one outside yourselves will either. You may find nuances of such in your life, jobs, blogs or other venues that help you grow, help you feel good, good enough to advance in this path called life.

My friends, allies and all who pass along my words… let these NOT be the reasons you vote.

(methinks these should not be the reasons we live the way we do in general, but I digress)

HEAL ME.

The healing we need from our politicians is a right to live a reasonably safe and prosperous life. Not by the confines of a “rising above” story, but by the actual concrete reality of having a chance to pay our bills, send our kids to school, live in a toxin free environment, have a right to privacy, have a right to be ourselves without religious or societal condemnation, be unmolested by our peers or our government….

This is why we vote.

The ills of society can be masked by the tiny things that lead us astray in our daily lives. Ego and alienation, validation.

The ills of society cannot be addressed by such mundane complaints. The job is more. The job is to give each of us the tools we need to find the rest without undue duress.

We need a broad over view:  What are we hiring these people to do, which problems can they ACTUALLY address? National security, sure, but balanced with the actual societal cost vs the actual threat. Economy, indeed! Civil rights, yes.

But fuzzy feel goods?  If you are that insecure, you are better served going to a local watering hole than voting for that. A one nighter lasts longer than a Politician running on “Feel good” agendas does.

Vote About Their JOB!

More importantly:

Why do you vote? Why do others?

Maybe the question…

Maybe the driving question of this election should be:

WHY ARE YOU VOTING?

Their job isn’t to make you feel smart, kindred, mainstream, safe or any other fuzzy thing.

The government’s job is to protect your Constitutional Rights.

Life, Liberty, The Pursuit of Happiness. Not just for you, but for your country to ensure its continuing freedom.

How has that been working out so far?

Their job is to, with checks and balances not become an entity that works in its own self-interest and forgets the interest of the Populace that “GRANTS” it its power.

Forget the fuzzies.

Forget who they fuck, their church, their smiles, their charisma.  Check records. Vet the job.

Think about the Job.

Sometimes I wonder…..

“Momma is it just a waste of time?”

Please don’t get lost.

Breach the Wall.