I smite thee! ...The Diary of Nod

I'm a Georgia Voter

I voted today. In a strange mix of "the devil I know" and "incumbency is the root of corruption", I voted primarily Democratic with the occasional Republican to break entrenched criminality. In most cases, I know that the Republican candidate was a mix of policies I disagree with and personality I despise. I can't support anyone who believes our most important task is to invade the bedroom with the courts, the courts with the church, the church with the politician.

I voted today. Even though I lamented yesterday that our government does not support those who fall in the line of duty, I voted against a referendum to eliminate property taxes upon the (un-remarried) surviving spouse of a police officer or fire fighter. While the intent is very worthwhile, the law is overreaching and removing it once it's codified is more difficult than starting fresh and writing a fair law. The rule would encourage the surviving spouse to not remarry, has no sunset provision nor income restrictions. As I stated before, the government does not bear sole responsibility for caring for the individual, only giving that individual the means and opportunity to care for himself. Eliminating taxes of any kind would be a great benefit but should not last until the death of the surviving spouse! A graduated scale, slowly decreasing the tax exemption over a fixed number of years or as dependents entered adulthood, is far more responsible. Capping the exemption at a certain value, limiting it to certain income levels, reducing the benefit over time...all of these help ensure that the benefit is targeted best to those who need it without showering gifts upon those who don't.

I voted today. I wish I could feel better about it. After watching the HBO documentary Hacking Democracy, enthusiasm is difficult to find. My innocence is gone, my hope that there was anything standing in the way of complete usurpation of democracy. It isn't ignorance which keeps society from seeing this possibility, it's delusion. The very idea is so frightening that they refuse to contemplate it. If the election, all elections, everywhere, could be rigged...

I voted today. I don't believe that all elections are yet rigged, if only because of the scale required. It is both my responsibility and my right and I will exercise it, if only in defiance to those who would poison the well of self-determination. And tomorrow, when I look upon those who have gained or retained power through corruption and perversion, I must step forward and speak out against the evil that festers in the darkness of naiveté and fear. If the majority would trade to their master their rights for comfort then we must fill that role. We can no longer allow the manipulators to rule because we believe in the ideal more than the reality. The end cannot justify the means but if the means are inevitable, then it is only the end that can be changed.

posted by Lachlan @ 7:13 PM