Politics is a tough business. For an institution intended to be representative of its constituents, our government always seems to be preoccupied with what seems like the right business move, and not the actual right move. Politicians earn campaign dollars from big business based on the expectation they will make decisions that benefit those who helped to pay the politicians' way into office. And from then on, what's good for the company becomes good for the politician. When and why did money become the major reason politicians make the decisions they do? Our country is probably in one of its most troublesome times internationally, economically and socially. With all of our troubles in tow, our supposed representative government continually seems to neglect the wishes of its people.
Last Tuesday, President Bush vetoed the spending/withdrawal bill on Iraq, which, I'm sure, came as a complete shock to everyone. As of April, 3,316 U.S. soldiers, an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians and almost 100 journalists have been killed. Seems like things are going well, as I'm sure everyone can see. And that's just it; everyone knows this is a total mess. An estimated 28 percent of Americans believe we can still win this war, with the rest of the U.S. population thinking it was a total mistake. So where is our representative government now?
We elect members of Congress to vote in a combination of three ways; based on what their constituents want, what they think is right and what their party thinks is right. That said, how can we continue to have such a firm divide on Iraq war funding? The people want out, the Democrats want out, and I find it hard to believe most politicians believe thousands of people dying everyday is a good thing. But, I almost forgot — our country runs on greed.
Our politicians are failing us, and so is our slow, cumbersome government. The initial vote on the Iraq bill barely went through Congress, only to be shot down by President Bush. Why is it that half of our "representative" government continues to vote in favor of a war that just over a quarter of Americans feel is winnable? All I ever hear about is the great strides that are being made in Congress, and how they are making bipartisan decisions. I don't see it, do you? My guess is that it goes back to that whole money thing.
I don't know how many times it has been said, but it's time our government becomes accountable for their options. There are two ways to do that. One, vote every ignorant politician who has voted for this war out in the next election. Or two, politicians need to show the American people that they are truly in tune with their constituents' desires and get the hell out of Iraq. This situation is beyond money, and if politicians don't see it, they should be the ones on the front line. Party lines should have, long ago, been forgotten. Money and big business should have been forgotten. Re-election campaigns should have been forgotten. Lives should not have been forgotten.
We have reached a point in this war that can no longer be ignored, for it is only a sign of what is to come. No matter what the government or mass media feeds to you, there are hidden intentions and motives. The times of watching the news and commenting on how brainless you think this war is are over. Every American citizen is closer to becoming a number that abides by the law of the land than ever before, and it is utterly sad that we all seem content with it. This so-called free country is getting closer by the day to becoming a dictatorship. We can all watch as the once "Greatest Country in the World" becomes the greatest brainwashing country in the world, or we can make forceful demands and not accept sugarcoated BS. This is our country, not our government's country. Do something.
Ben Patterson ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science.
