We The People

“Politicians are like diapers.  They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.”

~Author Unknown

Today is our election day.  These words aren’t what I’d planned.
But here I am with all these thoughts.  I guess I’ll raise my hand.

I won’t get into right or wrong, or who I think should win.
Just take a look at what we need.  Our choice is pretty thin.

Our country doesn’t need a tweak, it needs an overhaul.
And if we don’t address it soon, we’ll smash into a wall.

Our education lies in fragments, shattered on the floor.
We the people must declare that we won’t take it any more.

Social Security is a joke, but not of the HA-HA kind.
How can we cast a careful vote, and keep it absent from our mind?

The economy… I shouldn’t start.  I might not ever stop.
Didn’t we all know the other shoe was bound to drop?

Now what I am about to say, I admit it’s touchy stuff,
but I don’t think that either guy can really do enough.

There’s just too much that must be done that isn’t in the scheme.
And If it goes unheeded, we will surely dim the dream.

Empires fade from suicide.  They whither from within.
We can peer through history to find ourselves a twin.

There are plenty parallels, let’s take some time to see;
Roman gladiators echoed on reality TV.

Each of us should do our share, and understand the facts.
Take the time to comprehend, minus the attacks.

It isn’t only black and white, most everything is gray.
Before we reach tomorrow, we should talk about today.

We didn’t get to where we are by some grand accident.
We’re only here because of how our decades have been spent.

We buy a lot, we spend a lot, and then we hit repeat.
We never want the sour, but we always want the sweet.

On this fair election day, I suggest we all reflect.
There are more important things than who we should elect.

The most important thing we have is who we are inside.
Can we stand up tall and wave our country’s flag with pride?

We shouldn’t look to Washington to solve our every hitch,
to keep us all from going poor, or help to make us rich.

Government by populace means populace should rule.
We must be intelligent and never act the fool.

I am optimistic that we’ll pull a proper course.
Wipe the dust away, and swing back on our horse.

Today is our election day.  Tomorrow is first light.
No matter who the winner, it is our chance to do things right.

Writer Dad

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10 Ways to Fight Writer Insecurity: A Writer Dad, Copyblogger guest post

Adios!

Today, Mia said farewell to school for the summer, and Kindergarden forever.  In six years, I don’t think Daisy or I have ever been more proud.  Mia pulled straight fours on every report card this year, and she did it in another tongue. 

Her school’s farewell program was adorable; a chorus of sixty kinders, half awkward, and half not – the perfect harmony for a Kindergarden performance.  The morning was as predictable as a late eighties sitcom with only one exception:

I certainly didn’t see myself crying.

I am, at the least, a reasonably sensitive guy.  Often thoughtful, and sometimes too tender, but also every bit the thirty something version of the rascal that our little Max is right now.  But I didn’t expect to cry, not like I did anyway.

I teared up a bit on Mia’s first day, of course.  Who wouldn’t?  If there isn’t a bit of salt on your cheek when delivering your first born into the arms of strangers for a nine month eon (no matter how qualified those strangers may be), then I’d have to say you need your ducts checked, if not the valves of your heart. 

So, yes, on the first day of school I got a bit misty, but the tears today were the real deal. 

Mia’s Señora had assembled a portfolio for each child in her class, stuffed with nine months worth of their best effort, and crowned with a handwritten letter home.  I made it through reading the letter to myself just fine; it was reading it out loud to Daisy that did me in.

We’re so grateful for the education that school has given to our family.  Before entering the program, I have to admit, I did’nt have the highest regard for public education, having been a product myself.  

This school shows me the very beginning of what is possible.

Writer Dad