I admit that in many ways I was not a very active or involved citizen prior to the Trump years. I was one of those liberals who went along living my life focused on career and family with little involvement in politics. In general, I held the position that the government should work for the people and I was a fan of positive political and government actions that lifted and enriched lives.
My own life had been greatly and positively influenced by positive political actions that increased rights for women, supported public education, elevated health care, and provided healthy lands, water, transportation, recreation and more. Growing up in a wonderful working class neighborhood with modest homes, every member of my family was able to get a college education and embark on meaningful careers and good lives. This has been wonderful.
As I watched the many Speaker nominations and votes at the House of Representatives over the past few days, I learned a lot including the following:
As many spoke about the United States and good living, I looked up how they voted noticing that while many spoke about good living in the United States, they voted against Acts that would greatly and dramatically improve lives across the country. Too often we accept the words of politicians without researching if they are actually doing the hard work to make those words a reality.
Open Secrets is another site that can tell you a lot about politicians. It's always good to research elected officials to see if their work lives up to their claims, statements, accusations, and debate.
Sound Bite Culture
I think too many of us, including myself, have become apart of a sound bite culture that doesn't do enough research to learn the truth of the matter when it comes to politics. Too many politicians know this fact and run on lots of erroneous sound bites that inspire fear and excite voters with unrealistic and dishonest promises. Today, in this world of easy access to information, we have the opportunity to learn the truth of the matter when it comes to the people that lead us, and it is our responsibility to determine the truth--we need to do our homework in order to elect the best possible people. We can't be satisfied with sound bites that provide a sensational rush, but don't tell the full story of who is leading us and what they are doing. An example of this is the many erroneous sound bites you read about the January 6th Insurrection. Every American can put those sound bites to rest by reading the January 6th Report to learn the truth of the matter.
Corrupt politicians count on the American people to not do their homework and blindly believe what they say. They also count on us not to exercise our right to vote. These actions give corrupt leaders their power.
The Speaker of the House debates gave me one inside look at politics today and challenged me to do a better job to find out the truth of the matter in order to support the best possible candidates for office today. I challenge you to do the same. Onward.