I love today’s Non-Sequitur: ((Though I have to admit that most days I do find the comic just plain strident.))
It _does_ seem like we elect government officials based on emotions and popularity and how pretty we think they are, rather than electing them based on whether or not they’re actually qualified for the job.
I don’t really care much for politicians. By and large I think they’re all a bunch of crooks and liars. I’m sure that most of them have convinced themselves that they have the best interests of their constituents in mind, but I think they just like to tell themselves beautiful lies to justify poor judgment and bad decisions. It seems to me that the honest politician who is wise in his decision-making, aware of his constituents’ needs, and sensitive to those needs and desires is a truly rare breed. I also think that this type of politician, the one with true integrity, also rarely makes it to a higher political office where he (or she) is most needed, possibly because the other screwed up politicians make it impossible to do so. And so our political system suffers under the clumsy paws of unqualified leaders while the good ones are kept under boot and heel.
I know, I know – this is a very cynical outlook on politics in our country, but the more I see of politics in general and politicians in particular, the more disgusted I become with the antics. They still remind me more of a bunch of squabbling 8-year-olds fighting over a ball on the playground rather than grown adults who _should_ have enough sense and maturity to behave like the leaders of one of the most powerful nations on Earth.
Of course, we really only have ourselves to blame for our leaders since most people don’t really seem to care two bits about the qualifications of their candidates, choosing instead to focus on how much they _seem_ like they’d be good for the job.
Ok, this is my one political rant for the year. I’m good to go until 2009. As you were.
