Voting

Some refer to it as a right, some as a privilege, but I tend to think of it as a responsibility. We live in the greatest country in the world. We live in a country that grants freedom beyond the limits of most other countries. We live in a country that is capable of providing safety for us and for our interests. Our country is ran by a democratic government. A government that without the people taking proactive roles can be ineffective and abusive.

The very fact that we consider 16% voter turnout amazing disgusts me. We cant even get half of our registered voters to the polls on any given election day, not to mention the countless millions of qualified voters that never register. Elections are manipulated, because the people don't allow their voices to be heard. Politicians become corrupted, because the people refuse to hold them accountable.

The House of Representatives almost always reelects its incumbents even in years when the government isn't getting anything done. In fact, most of the people reelected to the House run unopposed.

And as if that is not enough, some voters that turnout are ignorant at best. In an age that has TV, the internet, and grassroots campaigns, there is not excuse to show up at a polling place, not knowing how to vote, or not knowing who is even on the ballot. I have worked polling places in several different elections over the years, and I cannot count the number of times I have asked a voter if they are going to vote in a certain race, and they said, "I'm not even sure what's on the ballot". It is truly pathetic.

I know that we are the greatest country for a reason. This land has a promise unlike any other. However, if the people do not hold their leaders responsible, by staying up on current events, and by casting educated votes, then we will begin to loose our ground. Any democratic society must keep interest in its leaders in order to remain legitimate on the world stage. We like to pretend that we are represented by the people. If the people don't get their act together and soon however, we will be just another oligarchy.

Iraq

I supported the war in Iraq the minute it was floated to the American public as an idea. That nation under the rule of the Butcher of Baghdad posed a serious threat to America, and it needed to be dealt with. WMD's or not, they still needed to be dealt with. If I had known then, what I know now, I still would have supported the war.

However, my support for the war doesn't mean that I support the way it was conducted. I support the reasons for why we went in to Vietnam, however that war turned out to be nothing short of disastrous. The problem then, and the problem now is that we let politicians not generals run the war.

Afghanistan was a huge success not only because of the massive public support that it had, but because of the fact that Tommy Franks handled all of the planning. Similarly, Iraq could have been a success provided we let the military plan it. We didn't. In fact, the military planners that suggested a need for more troops were fired.

We sent troops to battle without body armor for crying out loud. The richest most powerful nation in the world required the parents of its armed forces to buy the very thing that could mean life or death. We should be ashamed.

I am a proud conservative republican. I supported Bush in 2004, and would do it again in a heart beat. However, I accept that President Bush has no business planning a war. However, it is not fully the President's nor the Republican controlled Congress's fault. When the democrats decide to stop being cowards and actually ask some questions, they ask, "what is the Bush administration's exit strategy". The very fact that this question is asked in the first place shows the problem with main stream political thinking. These questions should be asked of the Defense Department, not the President.

My concern with the war in Iraq grows as do the costs in both tax payer dollars, and most importantly, American lives. With China as a growing super power, we need to be concerned with the fact that most of our military is tied up in Iraq. If we continue, we will loose our legitimacy in foreign policy matters, and we will loose our status as a global super power. As someone that is about to enter active duty service, this worries me.

"We talk about honoring the trops. Well how about we honor them, by giving a damn when they get killed"