Can't hold my tongue any longer

So I live in Illinois right . . . which is and you know (so long as you at least walk past a news paper or turn on the TV) in the middle of yet another political scandal. Our fabulous (very sarcastic) governor who is only a small part of corrupt Illinois politics has been arressted for allegedly trying to sell our vacant senate seat. Once again, ya'll know know.

Honestly his arrest came as no surprise, he has been a horrible governor. But we the people of the state of Illinois re-elected the man just a few years ago. So we deserve it I guess. I mean, Chicago politics have always been corrupt. The days of Al Capone may be over, but our political system is more honest than it was then. And for the most part I am as guilty as the rest, the city functions, it's clean, crime is down, and the corruption stays mostly under the table so we look past it.

Now, the state government is a totally different story. It has never functioned!! We have the most dysfunctional and self serving state legislature I have ever seen. And to cap it all off a governor that fits right it. (Side note: if you think our beloved president elect managed to be a part of these systems and never got his hands dirty, that is just plain naive or ignorant, sorry to be blunt, but I see it first hand and you don't play with pigs without getting dirty).

So now, we have a governor facing impeachment, a vacant senate seat, the democrats up in arms throwing their own to the wolves, republicans calling for a special election with the hope of seating another republican in the senate, and an appointed senator who has yet to be and will doubtfully be confirmed. Of course the man feels that he has a right to the seat and has gone so far as to say: "We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained," Not sure when the Lord started ordaining senators, but this guy thinks that he has. My goodness . . . please NO!! But, he is prepared to sue in the case that he is not seated in the senate. The American way I guess. God bless America!

So what is my point here. People here in Illinois are upset, they are divided, they are embarrassed, and worst of all not being represented fairly on the national level (not that we have been the past two years while our junior senator was too busy running for president to be a senator, but we didn't seem to complain then). Anyway . . . my point is that we deserve every bit of what we have gotten. We look past corruption, we don't pay enough attention to who we elect and why, we are too complacent. It is just easier to keep letting wicked men lead us, than it is to fight to help good people be elected. I know that sounds crazy that good people could actually be involved in politics, but they have to be out there. It isn't enough to decide that things seem ok and just vote for the incumbent, or to just vote along party lines. It is our responsibility and right as citizens of this country to elect leader to represent us.

If anything, this situation along with the election last November have prompted me to not just talk, but to actually get involved. I know that I myself can't change the world, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't try. We should all do everything in our power to make the world better, even if we don't see any success, we should keep trying and try to bring integrity back to politics, I know it sounds crazy, but we have got to try.

Thanks for listening to my rant :)

Happy New Years!

I don't usually get all that excited about the new year . . . most years it just seems like another month and I just have to remember to change the year when I have to write down the date. But for some reason this year feels different. This year feels like a year of possibility for me and I intend to make the most of it. Not by making resolutions, but just by promising myself to be better and find new ways to enjoy life.

Happy new year to all of my friends and family . . . love you guys!