The Political Scene

To many newspaper readers, "Current Events" are about global catastrophes: floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme cold; to others it is about entertainment: movies, television shows, bands, sports; and others it is about local catastrophes: robberies, car crashes, shootings, food purity, electrical outages; and of course, some newspaper readers know nothing about current events concentrating on the "funnies".

In our time, the single most important area of current events is the arena of politics. It is in our time that the choice of the future direction of this country is to be made. There have been other times in the history of this country when the people faced decisions that meant the future direction of this country. 1) In the 1770's there was the decision to opt for Independence from England, and I believe we made the correct choice even though many people died. 2) In the 1850's and 1860's we had the choice of maintaining a country divided on two economic systems: a paid workforce in one, a slave workforce in the other. The outcome was decided by two armies and many, many people died. This country changed to a totally paid workforce. 3) In 2012 we are faced with two systems again: a free market, capitalist system which is the system that made this country the best in the world, or, a socialist system which has never succeded in any country in which it has been tried and has been the root of millions upon millions of deaths to support that system.

What is lamentable about this choice we are about to make is that a vast amount of the electorate have no understanding of the different choices. Hispanics believe it is about ease of citizenship attainment. Environmentalists believe it is about the abuse of the planet. Blacks believe it is about hatred for a black person. Homosexuals believe it is about gaining their rights. Feminists believe it is about women's health. Economists believe it is about the unsustainability of spending and a large unmanageable debt. Seniors believe it is about taking away their health care. Welfare recipients believe it is about sustaining their monthly payments. The Catholic Church believes that it is about forcing Catholics to do things against their conscience. The above cases are single issue people. People that vote only for their single issue. I have a niece that once said: "I don't want to think that I am going to vote with my vagina", a case of single issue voting.

Historians believe that before the 1770's there was a great awakening of religious fervor among the population, and they call it "The Great Awakening". A second "Great Awakening" has been identified in the 1830's and 1840's. It was through the Great Awakenings that the people were prepared to fundamentally change the course of their country. If that is true then the question comes up, have we had a Great Awakening to change the course of this country? Barack Obama believes that he is the one to fundamentally change this country. He truly believes this and, for those that are aware of the present political scene, we are most concerned for our country.