Can you name our country’s biggest problem?
No, it’s not a decay of morals, though there probably is.
No, it’s not our economic inefficiencies or the crash of Wall Street.
No, it’s not a desensitizing to violence and other people’s tragedies as a result of the TV news or YouTube.
No, it’s not the boatloads of money and mounds of mud being thrown around in the name of votes. And it’s not even the near-complete corruption of our elected officials.
These are all huge issues we must fix, but the biggest problem facing our country is apathy.
We just don’t care.
We would rather watch Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood because the problems of celebrities are more interesting than those in our own lives. If only we had their problems, life would be so much better, right?
We complain about people or elected officials on the other side of political spectrum because they are destroying the foundation of our country.
For example, it depends on who you talk to when pointing the finger at our state economic woes: It’s either the evil, free-spending Gov. Christine Gregoire or the socially unconscious Republicans.
We complain about the cost of gas, the paychecks of CEOs and professional athletes and, of course, our crazy neighbor who never mows the lawn and plays music too loud.
And politicians are the easy ones to blame. Sometimes we blame our own party.
But come Election Day, we keep voting the same people back into office. Why? Largely because the parties keep supporting the incumbents, so what choice do we have, right? And rather than educate ourselves about the candidates and the issues, we stick with the same ‘ol, same ‘ol.
We would rather have someone decide for us, rather than make our own educated decisions.
With a Congress Approval Rating below 20 percent, it’s time for change, whether it’s Republican or Democrat.
The first step is to get out and actually vote. Only about 35 percent of registered voters in King County voted in the August primary, the lowest turnout among all the counties in the state. The average state turnout was 42 percent.
You don’t have to vote for your party or the incumbent because it’s the easy thing to do. Vote for the person that you support, rather than the person you hate the least.
The thing is, we always have choice, it’s just a matter of how much you want to get involved.
Get involved. Get mad. Get sad. Get glad. But most important, learn about the candidates and use your right to vote.
Bill Christianson is the editor of the Redmond Reporter. He can be reached at bchrsitiasnon@reporternewspapers.com or at (425) 867-0353, ext. 5050.
