Of Yangs And Comms

Another thing that's always confused me... politically speaking. Democrats are the "big spenders", social program initiators. Republicans are the fiscal conservatives, the small government pro-business lobby. Democrats want business to be responsible for the impact of their methods, demanding fair hiring and fair and equal pay, healthcare coverage, and limited environmental damage. Republicans want business to be free to concentrate on their business without regulatory interference. And really, how can you be 'pro-life' only for the pre-born, but pro-death for a convicted criminal? And don't get me started on why your god should have any influence of any sort in my government -- both are beyond the scope of this discussion. Continuing on...

O wait a sec, the title. A Star Trek Original Series episode (actually named The Omega Glory). Examining (spoofing?) the devastation possible if the 'yankees' and the 'communists' carry their ideological grievances into full fledged global war (on a different planet, of course). Touching on abject nationalism and racism (in 1968!), I was reminded of it in my contemplation of the rancor today in politics, religion, and society at large. So anyway...

The real problems come with the effects of the policies implemented by government under whichever 'party' holds power at the moment. Without curbs on a business free-for-all, we have children working in factories, factory effluence polluting the ground, the air, and the water, animal cruelty and the new improved 12oz pound (all in the guise of 'consumer demand'), and monopolies destroying independent boutiques. We have unfair labor practices and higher costs for consumer goods (no competition to keep prices in check, no regulations to prevent price fixing among the few giants). 

Without curbs on government spending, we have excessive taxes (not proportional, but that's beyond the scope of this discussion), subdued consumer spending and home ownership (further reducing tax income to municipalities), high gasoline taxes, higher heating oil taxes (but would that maybe drive innovation in alternative transportation and clean energy?). 

Why can't they work together to accomplish what we the people hired them to do?

There must be a happy medium between these two extremes. Why do these two parties have the apparent monopoly they seem to have? What happened to the so called 'green party'? Who actually gets the money from the checkbox supporting 'presidential election campaign funding' on our annual income tax returns? Why do so few of us check that box? Why must we vote straight party lines, anyway? Why can't we choose an individual for her ideas and experience? Why not vote for a candidate who has his own but not a 'party platform'? 

And what's up with winning the popular vote but losing the election because of the electoral college? That can't be the way this thing was meant to work, can it? With even the least populous states getting 3 electoral college votes, combined with so few states proportionately awarding the popular vote count to their electoral representatives (most states are 'winner take all' states), residents of many states feel that their voices do not matter. Candidates concentrate on so-called 'battleground states' and ignore the rest of us. At least all states should proportionately assign electors based on the popular vote -- and should include non-party, independent candidate votes. For a more detailed discussion of this procedure [https://act.represent.us/sign/electoral-college/] There's no doubt that rural Iowans and Wisconites have far different concerns (effective fungicides, herbicides, disease and pest resistant seeds, humane animal husbandry, from feed lot to market - price to the farmer, irrigation, the vagaries of wildlife and even the weather itself, broadband, heating) than urban dwellers (crime, employment, education, healthcare, transportation to even get groceries). Yet the mid-country feeds the coasts, and the coasts rely on the production from rural America. Mid country relies on the coasts for the improved knowledge in crops and machinery (and other things I know nothing about). Our government must represent all of us. We are not each others' enemies. We are all Americans.

Okay, enough. This is turning into a rant as my husband would say. How do we meet in the middle so we have a truly representative government? It certainly isn't going to happen by continuing what we've been doing. Please VOTE! Make your voice matter. Be the change you want to see (may be a quote from someone... I do read a lot).