The state of where we are has been weighing on me heavily:
The Issues That We Are Facing Are Real And They Have Been For A Long Time
Our political system is not working for the American people, regardless of party. What is working is the creative presentation of facts by a majority of politicians and certain media outlets. Their success in providing half-truths and heavily biased opinions has increased the divide between Americans. Covid-19 has amplified the ineffectiveness of our government, especially at the Federal level.
Our country has issues that affect us all. Depending on your age and your involvement in our democracy you may have heard the same list repeatedly. Social equality, education, crime, health care, the economy, and in recent decades the environment. Not much has changed and little to no progress has been made. One might even argue things have gotten worse.
I am not denying GDP has increased or that wages have increased, but so have taxes and inflation. If we are being honest, giving the markets so much weight to determining the health of our "economy" has backfired on us multiple times since I have been an adult. If we were more truthful we might even conclude that our emphasis on the markets just might be the root of our problems.
Case in point, the recent stimulus package was not designed for distribution to small businesses first, but to be administered by banks and let them do what banks do. And what they did was give loans to well, the Lakers and other public companies. Somehow we missed making 47.5% of the country's workforce a priority, which only increases challenges for our fellow Americans.
To avoid any confusion I am a free market capitalist kind of guy, but realistically there are a lot of bad actors screwing things up. Those bad actors are and will continue to place profits before integrity. In doing so we have a cascading effect that is ripping away the stability of our nation.
What We Need Are Leaders Committed To The People And Their Office
After watching a lot of governors, mayors, and local elected officials lead and manage through the Coronavirus pandemic, it is clear most of our Federal leadership is lacking. Leaders in local and state offices understand that they have to "act" and not just talk. That is not to say that they are all created equal, but there is less rhetoric and more action. They have to and will be accountable for their actions.
If we held all elected officials responsible for their actions from day one they would be working on the commitments made to their constituents and have less focus on their next election. The type of leadership that Keisha Lance Bottoms, Larry Hogan, Mike DeWine, Gavin Newsom, Andrew Cuomo, Jacques Gilbert and countless others have shown is what is expected.
What Does Drain The Swamp Mean Anyway - We Are The Swamp
"We need to change Washington!". We are Washington. The people in office are there because we elected them. For better or worse they are a reflection of the citizens. We just keep forgetting that. Every two to four years we have a momentary bout with amnesia.
Forget politics, remember the short list of politicians from before? There are Democrats and Republicans on it. Political affiliation is irrelevant when it comes down to right and wrong. Choose not to play the party game, do your homework (to the best of you ability) before voting, and try to commit to values over "shiny objects".
So come on America take notes. We have to remember what went well and what didn't so we can fix it.