Letter to America

       I am not a man of many words, but this election season has led me to become more vocal about issues I ordinarily would not speak on publicly. I feel it's my duty as a typical American to voice my opinion in hopes that I can offer a different perspective on those things good and bad about this country we live in. I believe in equality and I believe in fairness. I am against hate and injustice. America is made up of all these things. There are individuals who live their lives only to prey upon others. There are people who take advantage of others. There are those who make it their life work to help others and there are people who are just existing. I'm am tired of just existing. I want to make a difference however big or small. The way I plan to make a difference is speaking on the status quo. This world is not perfect. America is not perfect, but it has flaws that I feel can be corrected. We live in a society were it's OK to be divided. We live in a society where it is OK to hate. We live in a society where it's OK to lie, steal, and cheat. We take advantage of those who have no options. We pay insurance premiums on everything. What happens if you rarely get sick or you don't have a car accident. You lose all the money you have paid for years. If you get into a car accident, you have to pay a deductible. Why? I am one of the lucky ones. I can afford insurance. I have options. I can decide which insurance company I want to steal the most money from me. Others don't have options. There are companies that don't provide insurance to their employees. There are individuals who can't get insurance due to pre-existing illnesses. Is this fair? Is denying healthcare the American way? I don't feel my tax bracket is fair. But paying taxes is one of my civic duties and providing healthcare should be one also.
        I want you to honestly ask yourself if the country is in a worse state now than let's say...um...4 years ago? We as humans have this super power of lying to ourselves. We are always in denial. I can HONESTLY say the country is no worse than it was 4 years ago. The economy is not where it could be but it's stable unlike 4 years, or more, ago. I know people who have lost their jobs. It wasn't a result of the economy. It was a result of money mismanagement. It was a result of corporate greed. The same greed that killed the economy in the first place. What legislation passed in the past 4 years have affected your life negatively? Please let me know. I am keeping a running list. I know people at my place of employment who were against health care reform not because they didn't feel it was the right thing to do, but because it meant more work for them. How selfish can you be. You can't give someone a turd and expect them to turn it into a diamond in record time, without giving them the tools to polish it or the toilet to flush it if need be.

      Now for the big Elephant and Donkey in the room. It's no secret who I will be voting for in November. I can say with reason and conviction that I will be voting for President Obama. The whole election process is filled with too much pomp and circumstance. We want to debate who won a debate. We want to analyze facial expressions and demeanor. All smoke and mirrors. We should be more interested in what the candidates have to say. We want to analyze poll numbers. I have been voting since 18 years of age and I have never been polled and I never will. Polls mean nothing. McCain and Obama were neck and neck days before the last election. The results of the election weren't even close. Let's put some things in perspective. People say Obama lied about his campaign promises. We as Americans ask every presidential nominee what they will do for America. Most nominees answer those questions. Some don't have the balls to. What we fail to realize is that no one can deliver on everything they promise. Every decision is not an individual decision. There are two things we forget about. Those two things are the Senate and the House of Representatives. They have made liars out of most presidents. Did both Bush's do everything they promised. No. Did Clinton? No. Did Reagan?  No. Romney won't do everything he is telling you he will do. We all have broken promises. You can't keep them all, especially if you are a politician. Find a better reason for wanting the president out of office. If you don't like him as a man or person, say that. Stop hiding behind lies. We pulled the troops out of Iraq. We are pulling them out of Afghanistan. These choices are being attacked. These moves work in favor of the deficit, but Obama is being attacked for increasing the deficit. Pick an argument and stick with it. I only have one thing to say to Mr. Romney. Run on your own platform. You have been echoing President Obama's platform recently. Be original.  I want you all to be a human for a second and stop being a republican or democrat or independent. I don't care what your political affiliation is. What I care about is what you do for America as a whole. I back people who try to make America the place documented in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Pledge of Allegiance, and Emancipation Proclamation. Obama is that person. He tries to work with the Republications. He makes the hard and unpopular decisions. He doesn't state that he is going to repeal everything the previous administration established no matter how unfair or one sided it is. That would be reckless. He has mended the relationships with our allies. He doesn't treat the presidency as a position in a corporation. Give this administration four more years so that their programs will do what they were created to do. We gave Bush 8 years. We gave Clinton 8 years. Give Obama 8. The world will not end, we will not be taken over by terrorists, we will not be at war unless provoked, the economy will be better, you can put your plans for a doomsday bunker on hold, you will still be paying the same amount of taxes or less, and although he is from Chicago, no team outside of the Blackhawks will miraculously win a championship. 

     So, my wish is that you all go out and vote. You stand in line for shoes, video games, and books, so standing in line on election day should be a piece of cake. Let's move the country forward. Let's not put a halt to our gains. I am voting for the person I feel is working for the entire country. I am voting for the person who beliefs are fair and unbiased. I am voting for myself in a sense. Let's get it in Mr. President. I have your back.