I remember growing up, learning about the history of America, and being in awe of the amazing men who were our Presidents. We started out with the amazing George Washington with his views about isolationism, a man who was unanimously elected into office because he had done our country great service and had earned the respect of the people.
As time has passed on, I have noticed the fall in my satisfaction of Presidential performance. Presidents are not what they used to be anymore. In times of crisis, “We the people”, could look to our President and our leader would do something revolutionary to fix domestic crises.
There were those Presidents who were decisive in economic affairs. Franklin Roosevelt gave us the New Deal. Harry Truman gave us the Fair Deal. Franklin Roosevelt also created the Tennessee Valley Authority, helping people by providing a means of employment.
There were those Presidents who helped our nation fight wars that mattered. We had the two great World Wars, that are still pinnacles of historical significance when we look back at them. We also look back at Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency during the Civil War and acknowledge his efforts to transform American society in the pursuit of equality. I am proud of my nation’s involvement in those wars. There were also those wars fought here in our nation, wars that we were directly part of that helped shape our nation.
Nowadays, it seems like it is more about what is going on in foreign countries than what is going on at home. We seem to have a hand in everyone else’s business, whilst our own country’s domestic affairs are a complete mess. Our economy is suffering and we have a huge deficit. There are so many issues that are divided in this country. There is no middle ground to be reached on such issues as abortion, gay marriage, alternative energy, military spending, and government spending in general.
I have never been a politician, but I often imagine what it is like and have come up with the following beliefs. Politicians are constantly under scrutiny for voting against their party’s stance. Yet, logrolling is essential to the government’s law-making practices. Politicians are constantly trying to stall some bills in some categories based on what it will do to their constituents. Furthermore, politics is all about numbers in a lot of ways. Whoever has the majority, has the advantage.
Law-making is not so much about improving society anymore. Politicians are constantly strategizing, trying to determine how they should vote so they can get enough votes later. Politicians are also kept in check by their parties and elections. If that politician is not up to par or following the party platform, there is pressure felt because he or she is affiliated with his or her party and this party helped get him or her elected.
Politics is not about promoting “the good of the people” anymore. Politics is about doing what you have to do in order to have influence over specific bills. Taking this into account, it is no wonder that multiple politicians turn out to be morally bankrupt with respect to their marriages.
This is the second Presidential election that will be coming up in a row where I do not care for the candidates that have been provided to me as options. I am not in awe of them like I used to be for our past influential Presidents. I have listened to political speeches and debates on the television over the years. The more words I hear, the more I realize that the speeches are just for show. I feel like I am listening to someone who is saying what they need to say for their image or to get a nomination and not someone who actually cares wholeheartedly about what they are saying and about fixing the problems (even if that road is unpopular to interest groups).
I have come to the conclusion that politicians stink. All the great politicians died a long time ago. I had hope that Hillary Clinton would be elected to the Presidency in the last Presidential election. However, she did not get the Democratic nomination. I still do not understand why she did not win over Obama. I felt that a Former First Lady who had remained active in politics as a Senator was more qualified for the position of President than any other candidate. I also felt she was an excellent speaker during her campaign, so she would have been a great representative for our nation.
Logically, it did not make sense to me that she did not win the nomination. This brings me to the disgusting notion that “history repeats itself”. Based on historical rights progression, black men had the right to vote before women did. As such, based on this history, it follows that we will not have a female President for several more decades. Personally, I believe that stinks. If history must repeat itself in this manner, I truly believe there is a lot wrong with the social construction of America.
In particular, I am upset because I am an intelligent woman and society will not give me all the opportunities of the men without struggle because I was not born a man. There is this constant feeling that I need to prove myself as the best at what I do in order to work with men. There is this constant irritation that women are presented as objects in advertising and that affects the mindset of society as a whole. Regardless of how I present myself and behave, there is that underlying stereotype put out by the media. I am convinced the world is screwed up because it is the women who have to have the thick skin to be successful professionally when men have the advantage in muscle mass development.
Overall, I want to see more female politicians. The past notion of women getting moody and bombing countries is ridiculous. Firstly, that argument makes no sense based on government protocol. Congress would have to fund that sort of decision and it is likely that a moody episode would not last the length of deliberation on the House floor for something like that. Secondly, men in society grow up having to portray themselves as tough or hypermasculine. There are a lot of men who get moody and beat their wives. Yet, apparently only the women are suggested as the people who could get moody and randomly blow up countries. Stereotypes disgust me, especially in how women are indirectly excluded from the pursuit of political advancement.
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