“Democracy is a slow process of stumbling to the right decision instead of going straight forward to the wrong one.” This statement has never felt truer than after the events that occurred in Pennsylvania on July 13 at former President Donald Trump’s rally leading into the Republican National Convention.
The political game has reached new heights. Candidates who slander, bully and use loose-cuffed lingo that aims to destroy the other’s reputation have shown to have massive impacts when they reach the wrong ears. When a candidate tells their supporters they need to keep their opponent in the “bullseye” and his opponent survives an assassination attempt a week later, something is wrong.
In November of 2020, Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hulme made the comment on air that the election between then-President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, “was the most important election since the last election and the most important election until the next one.”
Both presidential candidates are guilty. This isn’t a fully one-sided issue. Keep in mind that the on-stage bullying and theatrics Trump displayed in his bid for the 2016 Republican ticket were irrational and shameful.
That being said, Trump did a lot of good for this country, especially for men and women like those reading this publication. You don’t have to want to have a drink with any particular politician to trust they are doing work in the best interest of this country, not for personal gain. This goes for all parties and all government.
What do I expect? I expect my vote to matter. I expect that if the majority wishes to go in one direction, our elected officials should be trying to beat us there. I expect that my representation should be that of my vote and not of their wallet. I expect my representative to vote as if the government was a business, not a charity. Government shouldn’t be set up for reelection, retirement or power. It should be an institution of collaboration. Currently, none of this exists. Party line politics where Congress and Senate members are treated like celebrities have them unfortunately acting like it too.
Rev. Theodore Parker once stated, “Democracy means not ‘I am as good as you are,’ but ‘You are as good as I am.’” This election is without a doubt important. I am tired of the party-line game and the inability to balance a budget. I would love to see the government held accountable on its failures to govern. I would appreciate seeing my representatives working across the table to achieve a common goal. When we act like a nation in turmoil, we become a nation in turmoil. Pretty quickly, this nation needs to act like it’s the No. 1 economy in the world. It needs to act like the superpower that we are. Making ourselves a mockery doesn’t help us in trade, business, warfare or border security.
President Jimmy Carter once said, “The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself—always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested in adversity.”
I am proud of our corner of the world. At Western Livestock Journal, we are proud to produce editorial without bias. We report the facts and provide the information and you decide what to do with it. In opinion columns, such as this, we deviate somewhat because we are given the platform to share an opinion. We don’t expect everyone to agree with us but you will be respected even if you disagree. We will keep this promise with each article we produce.
Mainstream media plays a large hand in the recent political events, but the buildup led to a tipping point that a 20-year-old troubled young man took too far. Careless, irresponsible and inaccurate reporting combined with lazy fact checking by rating-driven media has deepened the divide we all feel. In fact, CNN wouldn’t initially admit that the incident was an assassination attempt. They hate him that much. It’s simply amazing how these organizations fight and continue the infighting to produce ratings.
It has become uncomfortable to be in the majority. I am seeing people being “canceled” by both sides of the aisle. If a minority representing less than 2% of the population needs something but the other 98% needs something else, the world shouldn’t have to accommodate a group that shouts louder. That’s not what this country was built on.
Enough is enough. We expect better. We expect to act like a united assembly of states that represent the values and wishes of the majority so that we can continue to prosper and lead. That is our responsibility, our objective and our end point. — LOGAN IPSEN
