election results

When something really annoys me, I always try to consider Jesus' words in Matthew 7:5: "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Usually I find that I need an attitude adjustment, even if my annoyance is still legitimate.

Such was the case when I was driving to work this morning, listening to the results of the election.  So for the sake of full disclosure and avoidance of hypocrisy, I admit that I did not vote yesterday.  Normally, I vote in every election, but I didn't vote in this one.  It was a mistake of paperwork, and I did not put forth due effort to correct the problem.  When I moved, I changed my DMV address and neglected to change my voter registration.  In effect, I became ineligible to vote at either my old or new polling station.  I didn't get it fixed fast enough to be able to vote this year. So, I fully admit that I did not complete my civic duty in this midterm election. 

So, I can only be so annoyed at people that I hear on the radio who are decrying this or that, because I admit, I didn't vote.  But my annoyance still stands.  I respect peoples' right to express their opinions, but I get really frustrated when I hear people saying things like, "I lost a lot of money in the economic downturn, and they (the government) haven't doing anything about it!"  

I want to respond, saying, "I am sorry that you lost a lot of money during this crisis, but I disagree that the government hasn't done anything about it.  The government is made up of real people-- your neighbors some of them-- who are trying to alleviate this problem regardless of their political affiliation.  You may totally disagree with their methods, and I would be interested in hearing your ideas about how they could improve or about policies that might help.  But please do not accuse them of apathy.  Just because the economy is still struggling doesn't mean they aren't trying.  I am sorry that you haven't felt, or haven't recognized, the effects of their work.  They will continue to try to make it better for you and this country."

And then I just to tell them to go study economics and policy (shocking, I know) so that maybe they can actually have an informed, grounded, knowledgeable, and consistent opinion about anything.

It's mean, I know.  I can't say that I have an informed, grounded, knowledgeable, and consistent opinion, and I'm studying policy full-time.  In fact, the more I study, the more moderate I get.  But I guess my point is that government isn't this big, bag wolf out their who is trying to neglect the public, or worse yet, sabotage it.  Indeed, there have been governments like this in the past, and America's government is not immune to that possibility.  However, at the present, I think that the government is more like a huge, complex balancing trick, performed by our neighbors, and representing a vast collection of interests competing for scarce resources.  So, despite my failure to vote, I want to suggest that these people re-imagine the government as an organization in which they can be involved if they so choose.  But if they choose not to be involved and can't say something knowledgeable about politics or economics, then I wish they wouldn't say anything at all.