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Thanks,

Mark McCaw ~ twitter's @bigpicguy

Author of "Insights Inside a Mind" ~ blogging the big picture








Saturday 10 August 2013

#DearPoliticians

*****WARNING*****

     Even though this post is titled #DearPoliticians I don't expect actual politicians to read it. Reading is hard. Politicians hire people to read stuff for them, because we all know, stuff is hard. This usually leads to the politician only knowing whatever parts they can remember of what the people paid to read remembered and at some point may have passed on to them. (Oh those junior staffers!)

     In any event, you'll be comforted to know, no actual politicians will probably be hurt in the making and sharing of this post.

     Before I get to it, I'll explain a bit. I'd enjoy getting this one interactive. This is a non-partisan deal, it's designed to give everyone a voice. Join me in making Saturday, August 24, 2013 #DearPoliticians Day.

     Here's what I encourage you to do in the next 2 weeks. Find ways to use the hashtag. If you want to tweet something that applies to all politicians, use the hashtag. If you want to promote our special day, please do so. Below I will be writing a general list of things I want from politicians. All of them. All parties, all levels of government, all of what I am going to say applies to some of them, and some of what I'm going to say applies to all of them. I encourage you to get friends (and politicians) to read this post, share it, and encourage them to share as well. Wait! One more thing. Since I'm giving you a couple of weeks, I want you, and others, to write your/their own #DearPoliticians letter. On the 24th we will see if we can vault the hashtag to the top of the trends by sharing our letters and tweeting what important to us, not them telling us what we should think is important.

     If you have a blog, write a letter. If you're into video, put your letter up on youtube and we'll share it, please use the hashtag #DearPoliticians somewhere in your title. If you want to add your comments but don't have a blog, put your thoughts in the comments section of my blog and I will be tweeting it regularly.

     My letter is below. Think of what you want politicians to know and get yours written. Politicians say they want to listen to you, so let's dedicate Saturday, Aug. 24/13 to using #DearPoliticians to tell them what we think.

#DearPoliticians

     You seem quite fond of saying you want to hear from your constituents but I'm not convinced any of you are sincere. You'll have to convince me with actions, not words, not even words that I would really like to hear. Right now, I am willing to give you benefit of the doubt. If I see no change and you can't bother to respond and make yourself known, it will be clear you care less what the voting public wants from you.

     Number one on my list, stop lying. Period. You may say something that makes me angry or upset but I will still have to respect you if you are telling the truth. Every time you people choose to lie and end up getting caught, you erode the faith and trust we are supposed to be putting in your hands. Sometimes the truth is ugly but it will always set you free.

     Congratulations, you won an election. Like it or not, you also work for the people who didn't vote for you equally. I don't expect you to please everyone all the time, but I want you to put the words cooperation and compromise at the forefront of your thinking when dealing with issues.

     Beyond the lying thing, if you cannot behave honestly and ethically, I don't want you as a representative of anyone except yourself. You aren't fit for the position. This includes all the ways you spend the public's funds. This is 2013, not 1867 and we could use a bit of progress. The technology is such that you can provide a real-time accounting online of all incoming and outgoing transactions. When it's all out in the open you will think twice about all spending, and to me, that's about the most important thing. I don't mind paying taxes that are used in a good and defensible way.

     Stop cheating in elections. Stop using robocalls. Stop scaring people. Stop spending money you cannot prove the value of. Stop ignoring the facts because they aren't convenient. Stop ignoring you are allowing your grandchildren's future to be destroyed for the sake of a few dollars today. If I send you an email, I don't want you to respond with a form letter. When you do take the time to reply, I would like you to actually answer the question I asked you, not dance around it then summarize your party's platform on everything but what I asked about.

     Most of all, if you really claim to be a democracy, you must offer more than an opportunity every few years to put a mark on a ballot and have things no one ever mentioned rammed down our throats with absolutely zero say in the matter. You have lost your way. You need a good soul searching.

     Politics isn't sport. It doesn't matter who wins the game. What matters is the welfare of the people you are supposed to serve. Right now, it appears the system is terribly broken, and it has been getting worse over time. You owe it to us to pay heed to our needs, not your own, not your party, and certainly not mega corporations and their various mouthpieces.

     Get it together. Someone, somewhere, get it together, before the straw breaks the camel's back.