Vote

To the Editor: 
What we are seeing in national politics is a reflection of the local political picture we have painted for ourselves. With the exception of a few honest folks, we have feel-good leadership from the bottom to the top. Say whatever pleases the masses, do whatever pleases the party. Don’t step on toes. Flood the media with huff, puff and spin. Catering to large groups and the politically-connected leaves no room for the regular guy or the community as a whole.
After years of attending local government meetings, I have thrown in the towel. I fought both parties against the ill-conceived development that is our problem today. Citizen’s voices will not be heard over the larger special interest groups. Many others who came with concerns for the community have given up as well. Most in attendance today have their own personal agenda.
We have always had professional politicians but at one time they were leaders as well. Today there is a high paid staff running the show. Lawyers, engineers, consultants and administrators are bleeding our communities dry. The type of candidate who will usually get the support will be someone who can function within this framework. Often they were not class president.
Here in Middle we see our representatives in presentations of every nature. Employee of the month, citizen awards and even top dog. Kissing babies, shaking hands and paws. We are bombarded with releases of all the wonderful accomplishments by our governing body. Meanwhile Rio Grande gives us homeless, heroin, prostitution and murder. The one bright spot in this is our chief of police. Still he can only do so much to protect the community from the mess the politicians make. He is one of the few in the decision-making process who was born and raised in Middle. He is quite capable and truly cares.
The freehold is the next rung up. They are a busy bunch, doling out the fruits of their party’s labor. If the politically-connected are getting the goods jobs and the big money, someone has to pay for it. They have taken the cheapest way out of the indigent issue which actually compounds the problem for the community. There is a reason outsiders are migrating to our motel mess. One has to think other counties are managing the issue a bit better than our freehold panel. From all of this we get lots of finger pointing to accessorize the huff, puff and spin. Plenty of professional politicians in this arena. Continuing our climb, we have a state senator and congressman who both have over 20 notches in their political belts; professional politicians leading the way.
They don’t get elected for indefinite terms, we make it happen. Among the contributing factors are partisanship and selfish motivations. Still the single greatest problem is simply no motivation at all. If everyone would vote, the election could not be controlled as they are now. Your vote can bring term limits in spite of the politicians’ refusal to do so. If they are in, vote them out. Soon the professional will disappear. Real people will come forward to serve. It works in so many other settings; faith-based and charitable organizations, service clubs of all types, PTA and on and on. People will serve where needed. That’s how this great nation was founded. We have just let it get away from us. If you really want your country back, vote.