Business as Usual by Ira Scwartz

For the last several months, I have been reading numerous political blogs available on the internet. Most are eloquently written and usually point out the bad points of one political party or the other. The Democrats didn’t fulfill this campaign promise or the Republicans were really responsible for that disaster. I noticed that while both sides are quick to blame each other no one ever comes up with a solution that will benefit not just their political party but all Americans.

Our constitution proclaims rather loudly, “WE THE PEOPLE of the United States”. It doesn’t say “We the people of the United States that are Republicans or Democrats or Liberals or Conservatives.” It lumps us all into one group, the United States.

There was a reason for this. Our founders knew it would take the country as a whole, working together, to achieve the impossible; to achieve the birth of a new nation. But sadly the fire that propelled our forefathers to greatness seems to have long since burned out. Today our political leaders seem to be more interested in pushing their own agenda or working to get re-elected then actually doing what they were elected to do, represent the people.

It is not all their fault; we the people must take most of the blame. Our complacency over the years has allowed this to happen. In the absence of directions from us, they, like unsupervised children, have gone off on their own. When questioned, they tell us not to worry, they know what is best. Then they smile condescendingly, pat us on the head and plod forward, barely breaking stride as they continue preaching the same rhetoric. The political tabloids and so called news programs joke, “its politics as usual in Washington.” But you know what…that’s not funny anymore.

This country was founded “by the people and for the people” and we the people need to remember that. Each and every one of us is responsible for what this great country of ours says and does. After all we elected these people to speak on our behalf, trusted them to look after our concerns. So how do we get our country’s leaders to listen? It’s really very simple. All of us need to start paying attention again; to get involved again. All of us need to stop thinking of ourselves as red states or blue states, Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives and start thinking of ourselves as Americans.

All of us need to get to know our representatives, check their legislative history, and see what they’ve been doing in our names. If we’re not happy with the way they’ve been representing us we need to let them know it. If they don’t listen we need to replace them with someone who will. The power has always been in our hands, all of us just need the will to use it. We need to reignite in all of us that spark our founding fathers knew so well. To participate as one in the journey forward our nation is taking in this new century. Then, and only then, can we all tell our leaders that “business as usual in Washington” is no longer acceptable.

©2009 by Ira Schwartz

Ira Scwartz is a writer working and living in Los Angeles. He has written for tv and film and has had two features produced.