2012 Election

Well the votes have been mostly counted and the election results are in.

I am greatly disappointed and saddened this morning.  I am going to try hard to temper my feelings here with diplomacy and consideration for my friends who on the opposite side of the political spectrum but still try to express my frustrated feelings.

I am really scared with the direction our country is heading and I'm not sure it'll change.  4 years ago, Tim and I watched the election results rolling in and were not surprised with the outcome.  But we predicted that night that 4 years later our country would be in pain with this greatly inexperienced and partisan president in charge from our state known for its corruption and back-room dealings and that the election results would be a lot different.  Well only half that is true this morning.

This was my first election voting as a mother and it's amazing how much my feelings changed.  Not for who I was voting for, which didn't change, but why I was voting.  This time I voted with a much heavier and prayerful heart.  Thinking about the future of our country, the direction it's heading, the safety and well-being of these little bodies tucked into their beds in footie pajamas and the responsibility that I have to look out for them drove my vote.  Sure, I want to keep more of the money that I worked hard to earn, I want to want to be kept safe from those who want to harm me, and I want to avoid government interference in my daily life.  But mostly what I want is a better life for my kids.  I want to know that they're protected and safe and that their future is bright and optimistic, that someday they'll have good jobs and can buy homes and tuck their kids in at night someday in the future. The gravity of the election was so much heavier on my heart and mind than it ever has been before.

I am flabbergasted that the majority of Americans agree with me in thinking this country is headed in the wrong direction yet did nothing to try to change that.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  I'd like to think that 4 years from now we'll see vastly different results, but if the current state of this country don't persuade us to try a new tactic, than I don't see anything changing.  We've created such a society of dependence rather than Independence, of government reliance rather than self-reliance, of entitlement and expectation rather than hard work and ingenuity.  Unfortunately now, so many of our citizens are in this entitlement cycle and will likely never break out of it and that will have a huge impact on our future.

I'm an Accountant.  I think in dollars and cents and I'm very practical when it comes to decisions and outcomes.  I spend 45+ hours a week analyzing financial statements, reviewing profit and loss numbers and discussing budgets, forecasts, and actuals. But I don't think you need to be a CPA to understand that $16 trillion of debt is financial suicide for our country.  Forget terrorist threats - we are going to do ourselves in before long.  My kids' share of the national debt is over $100k and I am so angry at our leaders for the unfairness of this, for this selfishness and short-sighted thinking for which my kids and their kids will be paying the price. This spend, spend, spend mentality leads to a fantastic instant gratification but misery and self-destruction over time.   

I hope and pray that I'm wrong.  I sincerely hope that the decisions the Administration makes will benefit this country, its people and the world. The repercussions of the vote yesterday will be felt long after today, long after 4 years from now, long after those of us who made the decision are alive.  We had a tremendous responsibility to future generations when we filled in that circle on our ballot, one that is even more meaningful to me now that I am raising that next generation.  The decision has been made and we and they will have to live with the consequences for the rest of our lives.  A few of my friends are elated.  Me?  I'm terrified.