By Peter Cleary
The highest office in the land was up for grabs Tuesday and since then, votes have been cast, counted and chronicled for the 57th time in this nation’s history– electing President Barack Obama to a second term.
Presidential elections have always been exciting, but it seems we may be entering an era in which they consume us entirely. The immensity of today’s media, along with the vastness of American influence and economics has raised the stakes for elections, even midterms, far higher than anyone could have ever imagined. With such these stakes, it seems that campaigning never stops no matter how far off the election is.
Elections are what this nation was founded on and they are the most important aspect of American life, but there is no denying that there is a side effect: our leaders become beggars and our reporters become vultures. It’s as if elections are more important than government itself.
Politics have been overstaying their welcome for the last four years. Partisan gridlock was present for the rescue of the automotive and banking industries, passage of healthcare reform, the debt ceiling debate, the American response to the various revolutions of the Arab Spring, and of course, the passage of the nation’s budget.
More and more, our politicians are choosing to address the needs of their parties before the masses. This is a gateway to the decline of American power, society, culture and influence. Elections may be doing our country good, but they do so in the way that exercise makes an athlete great– its excessive prolonging can do no good, only harm.
Today’s politicians insist on flexing their power and creating political gridlock when their reelection bids are years away. In so doing, the new campaign season suffers a premature birth. This political manipulation for personal gain creates serious consequences for the populace who is denied a government. More importantly, we are denied representation, during the duration of such meaningless and inappropriately timed debates. These squabbles harm the nation where we are most vulnerable– our domestic affairs. In the words of President Abraham Lincoln, “As a nation of free men, we will either live forever or die by suicide.”
This is a fate that we are not condemned to; a decade of war is concluding and an ailed economy is on the road to recovery. This is the time for nation building; peace and prosperity are around the corner, the word “crisis” will soon be in a state of temporary obsolescence. With the election behind us and our security and economic needs being met, conflict between the parties will be meaningless and inexcusable. America can achieve things that other nations can only dream of. We’ve done it before — not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but solely Americans.
The upgrade of our infrastructure, reductions in our debt and unemployment, expansion of our influence; this is what the 2010’s will grant our republic if we do what America does best, which is working together.
