I just want to start by introducing myself. I am an average citizen who is not a politician. I have never had any political aspirations. My political involvement has been limited to voting in most elections and occasionally offering my opinions when politics are discussed amongst my friends and colleagues. I go to work and work hard. I have a family that I love and with which I don�t get to spend enough time. Securing a good future for my family is one of my major goals in life.
Until recently, I thought I was doing excellent work to the end of providing for my family�s future. I have life insurance, disability insurance; I am saving for retirement, working to advance my career, planning for my children�s education, etc. While all of these things are important, they really don�t secure a good future for my children. I have come to realized that one of the most important things I can do to secure the future for my children is to leave the world a better place for them. To this end, I have been pretty much a complete failure.
I have had a lot of time to think about what would make the world a better place, and whose job is it to make these things a reality. My first instinct was to think that it was our government�s job. And, ideally, that is really what we have elected them to do for us. The harsh reality is that they have long given up on this job. Our government seems more focused on furthering their own careers. Figuring out how to get more votes and grandstand while not actually doing anything. They find small issues like gay marriage, little scandals, steroids in sports, etc. that they thing will raise passionate responses from the electorate and they focus on them hoping that we won�t realized that they aren�t doing their jobs.
I am sad to say that, to a large degree, it works. Every few election cycles the people get fed up enough to vote for change. But the only change is which party is in control in Washington. This may change which special interest groups get what they want and what pork barrel projects inflate our already bloated budget, but it really never changes much. Washington just continues on in a stalemate of rhetoric and inactivity and we all suffer for it.
I then turned my focus on to myself. I can not trust that Washington will do their job, so I must examine what I can do. I can recycle; try to cut down on my energy consumption, live in a peaceful and accepting way, support charities. I can do all these things and more, and they are good things to do, but is it enough? I can encourage others I know to try and make change, to do what we can to make this a better world, but is it enough?
I believe the United States, as well as the world at large, is reaching a critical place in history. I believe we need to change the way we do things, the way we treat each other as well as the way we treat the planet. I am not talking about little change. I am not talking about replacing republicans with democrats. I am not talking about evolution; I am talking about revolutionary change.
By that I do not mean war. I am talking about the same kind of revolution that FDR led with his New Deal programs. I mean difficult changes, maybe even upheaval in the way we do things. The problems we face in the future are not small. Patching the current systems through which we work will not fix the problems at hand. We must discover new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things.
So what are these great problems that we face? Why should we care? What can we do? How will change affect me?
I will start by saying that I have been lucky to live in a great country, and I think our future can be bright and exciting. I am saddened by the current politics of division and want to see a future where we unite as a country and successfully bring positive change. So the first answer is that we need to work together. No one person, group or ideology has all the answers. We need a government who will listen to every one and try to put the best ideas together to tackle the problems at hand.
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