Yes, I voted today. I think I’ve missed maybe only one primary election since I turned 18, something like that. I take my civic responsibility seriously, even if I’m sick to death of all of it.
I was more interested in politics and the races a few years ago, but the money wasted spent on races and the vitriol between candidates and the sheer ignorance of politicians when it comes to how the middle class actually lives pretty much led me to not give a damn anymore.
No longer having cable or a reliable over the air antenna signal helps too. No news = lower blood pressure.
But as I sit here watching election results (because I’m always wired after band rehearsal and these pretzels aren’t going to eat themselves), all I can think is what a waste of money this all was. Is. And that I doubt things are going to get better. At this moment, the current Illinois governor appears to have lost, and an anti-teacher candidate will soon be the leader of my state. You’d think it wouldn’t matter much to me, since I homeschool, but I do have a kid in public school and a whole mess of teacher friends.
I’m sick of all of it. Politicians, you’ve lost me. I’m done. I vote because it is my right and responsibility, but I don’t trust any of you to do a damned thing in my interest. Not. One. Thing. It’s taken a long time, but I’ve finally acknowledged that there is no safety net anywhere, and it’s all on me to make sure my family is safe and healthy and educated.
I voted. I did my job. But I no longer expect my representatives to do theirs.
where wildly different is perfectly normal
Amen! I’m pretty sick of it too. My husband sent me this though: http://www.cgpgrey.com/blog/politics-in-the-animal-kingdom-single-transferable-vote
Since I totally agree that we’re dealing with a bunch of monkeys, and better representation would be awesome, I’m really curious if this would ever actually happen. Maybe the politicians would spend more time listening and less time bad mouthing the other guys!
I’m still comfortable with local elections where I might actually know someone who knows the candidate. Or at least I can see their track record without whitewash.