I do not care what Barack Obama's middle name is, or what color his skin is, or that his pastor is distrustful or angry towards whites, or that he is endorsed by Oprah, or that he used the term "lipstick on a pig."
I do not care if John McCain dated a stripper and drove too fast 50 years ago, or that his wife's hair is considered "too shelacked" or that he appeared to be checking Palin out or sleeping while reading her teleprompter.
I do not care if Sarah Palin was runner up in a pageant or that she doesn't like Harry Potter books or that she enjoys mooseburgers or that she posted the jet on ebay, but it ended up selling privately. I don't even care if she ousted the commissioner for not firing her deadbeat and dangerous brother-in-law. I don't care about Todd Palin's DUI from 20+ years ago.
I don't care about Joe Biden's... hey? How come I don't know the dirt on Joe? Never mind!
What I care about is the fact that my husband must use (as opposed to wants to use) public transportation to commute to work- and it adds an extra 1 1/2 hours a day that he can't be with his children, because gas prices are so high we can't afford for him to drive every day. Our only other option is to move closer to his work, in a town with more congestion, more crime, more traffic accidents, and less of the things we enjoy where we are.
I care that our country is teetering towards relying solely on foreign oil. Energy controls our lives- the small day to day things like the cost of a gallon of milk, as well as the ability for an airline to stay in business, or the security of our nation. I care that I live in a state that is full of untapped oil. And also the fact that we are awfully close to Russia, China, and North Korea, and our relationships with these countries is- well, not so good.
I wonder how long it will take for our country to begin exploring, developing, using alternative energy sources so that we don't have to use as much oil.
I care that we are in a precarious position being a one income family and that I may have to go back to work and dump my children in subsidized day care for 10 hours a day in order to pay our bills. And we're not talking iTunes fees, hair extensions and a new car- more like a 22% increase in natural gas and expensive groceries and $4.26 for a gallon of gas (and that's after prices dropped).
I care about my friend's son, diagnosed with cancer at age 6, who will not be eligible for medical insurance when he turns 18. Or the fact that, although she wanted to quit her job to spend time with her son and care for him during his treatment, she couldn't afford the $5,000 per month premium for carryover insurance until her husband's insurance kicked in.
I worry about my 3 sons and whether or not they will be shipped off to war in one of a dozen places that we are currently battling or will battle with in the near future. Are we fighting these wars for the right reasons? Are we spread too thin? Do we have a president who really understands and supports why we are there in the first place?
I wonder how long our children will be stuck in a mediocre education system, where we have to cross our fingers for our kids to win the lottery for the school of our choice, or we have to hope that the latest bond passes for our kid's school that will buy them a new roof to repair the one that leaks on their desk. Will our kids recieve the education they need to function in the career of their dreams? Will we be able to afford skyrocketing college costs to get them there?
These are the things that plague my mind as a mother and a wife and a citizen of the United States of America. I may not have a degree in political science or history or law. I may not keep up with all the latest news. But I do have a desire to tell the media "SHUT UP! WE'RE NOT THAT STUPID!" So I'm on a mission. It may be pointless, being only one individual. But my mission is this... To stop listening to the news when they circulate the same insignificant story for 72 straight hours. To trash (or recycle!) the newspapers and magazines that analyze to the nth degree the things that don't matter and yet ignore the important issues. To ignore websites and blogs and emails that talk about things like "faked pregnancies" and "anti-Christ in disguise." It's not that these things don't deserve some bit of thought. It's just that they don't deserve all the brain cells that are being wasted on them at the expense of the bigger, more relevant ideas. I'll be waiting to hear the candidates speak, in their own words (so long as you can call pre-written speeches by others "their own words") during upcoming interviews and debates before I make my final decision. So join me, people! Let's have a common sense revolution! :)
I do not care if John McCain dated a stripper and drove too fast 50 years ago, or that his wife's hair is considered "too shelacked" or that he appeared to be checking Palin out or sleeping while reading her teleprompter.
I do not care if Sarah Palin was runner up in a pageant or that she doesn't like Harry Potter books or that she enjoys mooseburgers or that she posted the jet on ebay, but it ended up selling privately. I don't even care if she ousted the commissioner for not firing her deadbeat and dangerous brother-in-law. I don't care about Todd Palin's DUI from 20+ years ago.
I don't care about Joe Biden's... hey? How come I don't know the dirt on Joe? Never mind!
What I care about is the fact that my husband must use (as opposed to wants to use) public transportation to commute to work- and it adds an extra 1 1/2 hours a day that he can't be with his children, because gas prices are so high we can't afford for him to drive every day. Our only other option is to move closer to his work, in a town with more congestion, more crime, more traffic accidents, and less of the things we enjoy where we are.
I care that our country is teetering towards relying solely on foreign oil. Energy controls our lives- the small day to day things like the cost of a gallon of milk, as well as the ability for an airline to stay in business, or the security of our nation. I care that I live in a state that is full of untapped oil. And also the fact that we are awfully close to Russia, China, and North Korea, and our relationships with these countries is- well, not so good.
I wonder how long it will take for our country to begin exploring, developing, using alternative energy sources so that we don't have to use as much oil.
I care that we are in a precarious position being a one income family and that I may have to go back to work and dump my children in subsidized day care for 10 hours a day in order to pay our bills. And we're not talking iTunes fees, hair extensions and a new car- more like a 22% increase in natural gas and expensive groceries and $4.26 for a gallon of gas (and that's after prices dropped).
I care about my friend's son, diagnosed with cancer at age 6, who will not be eligible for medical insurance when he turns 18. Or the fact that, although she wanted to quit her job to spend time with her son and care for him during his treatment, she couldn't afford the $5,000 per month premium for carryover insurance until her husband's insurance kicked in.
I worry about my 3 sons and whether or not they will be shipped off to war in one of a dozen places that we are currently battling or will battle with in the near future. Are we fighting these wars for the right reasons? Are we spread too thin? Do we have a president who really understands and supports why we are there in the first place?
I wonder how long our children will be stuck in a mediocre education system, where we have to cross our fingers for our kids to win the lottery for the school of our choice, or we have to hope that the latest bond passes for our kid's school that will buy them a new roof to repair the one that leaks on their desk. Will our kids recieve the education they need to function in the career of their dreams? Will we be able to afford skyrocketing college costs to get them there?
These are the things that plague my mind as a mother and a wife and a citizen of the United States of America. I may not have a degree in political science or history or law. I may not keep up with all the latest news. But I do have a desire to tell the media "SHUT UP! WE'RE NOT THAT STUPID!" So I'm on a mission. It may be pointless, being only one individual. But my mission is this... To stop listening to the news when they circulate the same insignificant story for 72 straight hours. To trash (or recycle!) the newspapers and magazines that analyze to the nth degree the things that don't matter and yet ignore the important issues. To ignore websites and blogs and emails that talk about things like "faked pregnancies" and "anti-Christ in disguise." It's not that these things don't deserve some bit of thought. It's just that they don't deserve all the brain cells that are being wasted on them at the expense of the bigger, more relevant ideas. I'll be waiting to hear the candidates speak, in their own words (so long as you can call pre-written speeches by others "their own words") during upcoming interviews and debates before I make my final decision. So join me, people! Let's have a common sense revolution! :)
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