Politics

Oh my gosh, politics. Do I want to tackle this subject? Can I say I hate politics? But you can't get away from it. No matter what country you live in. But here in the United States, I hate the way we have evolved. Somewhere, sometime, in the last 15 years, I feel our government servants stopped working for us, and only work for themselves. Suddenly everything, I mean, EVERYTHING, became party and politics. The left and right no longer even attempted to work together. If the Democrats suggested something, the Republicans hated it and visa versa. Here is California, in the state government, it has become ludicrous. One Democrat state rep did not vote as the rest of her party voted, and they kicked her out of her office. I mean literally made her move out of her office in Sacramento just because she voted her conscious and not the way the party told her too!

But everything now is so political. Everything is either left or right. And someone is either loved or hated based on whether that individual is Democrat or Republican. For example, QVC just announced that Elizabeth Hasselbeck is coming with a line of clothing. My word, the forums just went crazy. "I hate her! How could QVC do this?" and other ruder comments. "I won't watch! She is so awful." No matter that the woman has a background in fashion as a shoe designer and later hosted a television show on fashion. Fashion is her background. But the comments and horror of her coming on the QVC network with a line of clothing were outrageous. And all of it based on the fact she is a Republican. She voices a Republican point of view on the television show "The View". The majority of forum commentors did not care that she had a background in fashion. They absolutely did not want to watch her or see her, only because she was Republican. What does her political leanings have to do with it? I would hate to have my career be judged on how I voted or if I leaned right or left. Why did it even come into play? What did it have to do with her designing a fashion line?

I have to admit that most of the screaming that takes place does so within my party, the Democratic party. NBC, CBS, NPR all report with a leftish slant. A Democratic leaning. Those stations are very biased towards the left. But you do not hear many complaints about it. Fox Broadcasting takes a middle of the road, with some programs more to the right. Oh my gosh, the outrage you hear voiced about the Fox Broadcasting channel is everywhere! I feel it is more in the middle than any of the other networks that I mentioned above. But the fact it doesn't report with our Democratic leaning as the others is shouted about to the rooftops!

Back to Hasselbeck. Why is it that she is the one voice people complain about? The rest of the hostesses on "The View" all are Democrats. No one complains about them. Joy and Whoopie (and Rosie before them) can make all the comments they want, outshout the others and no one thinks a thing. Whoopie Goldberg and Joy Mehar both were on QVC. Nothing was mentioned about them. But Hasselbeck comes and the screaming begins. Why? What has it to do with fashion? Why are people defined by their political leanings and why are we tearing ourselves (and our country) apart by trying to box every one in as left or right, republican or democrat.

I live in the SF Bay Area. I would be frightened to place a republican sign in my yard for fear my house would be set on fire. I would be frighted to place a republican bumper sticker on my car for fear it would be vandalized. I wouldn't do either of those things because I am a Democrat. But the point is - why are we so polarized?

What has happened to us? I do not like the way we (the people of the US) are changing in this manner.

If I were a young actor or actress in the US, and wanted to make it. I wouldn't tell my political leanings. For if they happened to be Republican, I would be shunned and never make it. Why? What does your political leanings have to do with whether or not you were a good actor? But that is how bad it has become.

I wish we could start trying to all work together. I wish our government's servants would try to work together. Here in California, the separatization between the Dem's and Rep's has the state budget in a stranglehold. Agencies are going out of business, people are suffering, and yet those we elected won't change their votes or even attempt to work out a solution to the point that schools, cities, homes for the elderly, etc. etc. etc. are going under. But the PARTY is the everything, no matter the outcome.

If America doesn't change this separatization, I think we will go down. It scares me. What has happened to us?