You Deserve a Break Today

[billroper]

In a few minutes, daisy_knotwise and I will pile Katie and Julie in the minivan and drive over to the elementary school next door. Then she'll go in and then I'll go in and we'll take turns exercising our franchise.

And after that, we'll go to McDonald's. :)

The thing to remember is that about half the people in the country tend to agree with you at any given moment -- which means that half the people in the country tend to disagree with you at any given moment. This, of course, means that half of the country must be idiots.

If only we could figure out which half.

Ok, seriously now. There are idiots on both sides of any political divide. It's a fact of life.

And there are days when "facts" seem conveniently malleable. But even if everyone did agree on the facts, we still wouldn't necessarily agree on the solution, because we all apply different weightings to those facts based on our personal experiences and prejudices. (There's nothing inherently wrong with prejudices. I'm prejudiced against taking poison, but both of my parents did so upon the advice of their doctor. In that case, it was called chemotherapy and was probably a good idea. The trick is understanding when and how you want to use your judgment to override those prejudices. And it can be tricky.)

Overall, I still like democracy, much like Winston Churchill: "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." Of course, he's also quoted as saying, "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." And there are days that I feel like that too. :)

But, you know, it beats the alternatives.

Comments

Good for you!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I'll be going to vote shortly.

[jhayman.livejournal.com]

Eileen McGann has a silly song called "Too Stupid for Democracy" that I sing occasionally. The concluding line is, of course, "but of the alternatives are worse." But I really like the part about folksingers in the government.

We don't have a major election this year, but municipal elections were last week, with amazingly high turnouts. People are feeling strongly about issues.

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Roger that, m'friend.

[lindaneely.livejournal.com]

The campaigns in Nevada this year have been ugly. Each side paints their opponent as an unprincipled liar. If a quarter of what they each say is true, neither of them should be elected. I wonder if a nation can survive if it is governed by people elected because they were the lesser of two evils.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

*Salutes your participation in your Civic Duties*
(and pats self on back for having done the same.)

While I am fairly certain you and I have differing views on many issues, I comfort myself by having read your posts, in which I have determined that you are an INTELLIGENT voter.

You sort out the idiots from the ideologues from those who just have a different view.

[qnofhrt.livejournal.com]

I voted last week and Dave voted earlier today. Some of the choices weren't or were between voting for somebody or not casting a vote in the particular race.

I'm very depressed by the thought of the Republicans taking over the House again. I have no problems with fiscal conservatives but saying they'd extend the tax cuts and in so doing, cut the deficit - that don't make no sense!

We'll just have to see.