"The mystery of government is not how Washington works, but how to make it stop." - P. J. O'RourkeI had no intention of writing a column about politics and the upcoming election this month, for crying out loud, however, I just can’t help myself. If you are not mad as hell right now, there really is something wrong with you. The recent debacle that occurred on Wall Street and in Washington D.C. is trickling down all the way to Main Street. It really has nothing to do with whether you have lost money or not (although, my guess is most of you have) and it does not matter at all what your politics are. I am not going to do any finger pointing nor give you a lengthy explanation of why this happened. It has happened and it is what it is. But I am going to offer a suggestion for what we can do about it.
My recommendation is that we throw the bums out. Every stinking one of them. NOW!
There is an amazing phenomenon that occurs in this great country of ours. Most Americans don’t like Congress but they like their Congressman. Therein lies the problem. We are suckers for a multi million dollar campaign. Both sides lie…they prey on our fear…they convince us that they are “it”…we usually have two choices…and we end up picking the lesser of two evils. I truly believe that it is time for a legitimate third party in this country but that is a discussion for another day. I also hope that each and every one of you will get out and vote…as an American citizen, it is your duty.
One of the stories that caught my eye just before the $700 Billion Bailout was the discussion by our esteemed leaders that they did not want it called a “bailout” but rather they wanted it to be called a “rescue” because they didn’t like the way bailout sounded. Are you kidding me? These morons in the Beltway created and allowed this mess and then they want to make sure that it sounds like they are doing something good for us. I think it should be called the “The Great Train Robbery of the American Citizens” but that is only one man’s opinion. Frankly, I would like to see some criminal charges in the midst of this whole thing and I can damn guarantee you that if you do enough digging you will find them. What I find most remarkable is the fact that the same people who don't know quite how this all happened think that they know how to fix it. Just a short while ago they were all tied up with hearings on steroids in baseball. Are you kidding me?
Okay, so here we are, in the middle of blog about fishing, conservation, and other stuff, listening to this old coot rant and rave about politics. What does this have to do with fishing, you ask? Well, a few things and I ask that you hang with me for just a moment.
Number one, choose your candidates wisely. Don’t make the assumption that just because your candidate belongs to a certain party that they even remotely represent you and your beliefs. You have to do your homework and you need to be wise and think. If you vote straight ticket, that is intellectually lazy. To my point, there were career politicians on both sides of the aisles that have blood on their hands on this recent financial collapse. Watch what they do, not just what they say. Hold them accountable. They are counting on you liking them, even if you don’t like Congress. What is going to take for you to see through the smoke and mirrors? We need to know where the candidates stand on issues near and dear to our hearts – and for outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen, one of those issues is conservation.
Number two, for goodness sakes, don’t take any of this too seriously. Only sweat the things that you are in control of. You can control your vote, but not the person you vote for. You can vote them in office, or better yet, you can vote them out of office if you can muster the courage. But, the truth is, you have better things to do with your time. More importantly, you can make the time to go fishing and count your blessings…I know you have them…I know because I have them too. And me, I am going fishing and I am going to light up my favorite cigar and start counting. I hope you will join me. Drop me a line and share with me your own personal bailout plan. You think about that…TL
