Politics is fascinating to me.  The games people play as they work toward gaining a desired office, job, seat on the bus, whatever, are all similar.  In large part, they seem harmless enough, more like jockeying for position than cutthroat actions.  Even in the most hard-fought political battles, the truth is available to anyone who chooses to look for it, and most of the misinformation is easily transparent.  The problem comes when we don't hold ourselves accountable on a personal level.

The current financial debacle our country faces is a prime example of what happens when the electorate just floats along.  The easy way out is to blame someone, i.e. must be the fatcats, they cheated us.  Maybe it is the current Republican administration, they lied to us.  I bet it's the greed and ambition of those people who knew they could not afford a home, but bought one anyway.  What about the mortgage companies who lent money to unqualified borrowers?  The list is endless, and all of those things are probably true, but the bottomline is: my list must begin with me and yours with you.

As good citizens, our job is to hold our leaders accountable, and that task begins at the bottom, not the top.  The first place to clean house is at home.  I cannot malign the CEO who lines his pockets if I'm willing to walk out of the grocery store with change from a twenty, when I know I gave the cashier a ten.   I have no right to chastise the senator who adds the pork barrel benefits to his bill for the sake of his constituency (re-election), if I carry home a hand full of office pens or make an unneeded stop at a FEMA drop-off.  Who am I to speak evil of the Wall Street baron who oversells a stock he knows is built on a house of cards, if I encourage my customer to buy more insurance than I believe he needs.  

When I listen to parents, I hear things I never heard when I was growing up or even when my children were growing up.  As a society, the individual responsibility taught in the olden days has become scarce.   I sat in the office kitchen recently, and to make conversation, I asked one of the moms about her teenage son.

"When will Kevin be sixteen?"

"Next May.  I've started to look for a new truck for him.  He wants an extended cab, but I'm thinking maybe one of the smaller ones would be better."

"Oh, is Kevin working?"

"No.  He doesn't have time, what with athletics and school.  Besides youngsters need time to enjoy their youth."

"Why does he need a vehicle?"

Another mom laughed.  In fact, the entire table laughed.

"It's been a while since you had teenagers, Ann!"

"Not so long."

"Did you buy them cars?"

"No.  Parents still knew how to say We can't afford it back then.  Working and walking teenagers were still in vogue." 

The subject was immediately changed, and my employees seemed a bit embarrassed --for me.  My comments were out of step with today's mindset, and maybe I am too.   

The economy meltdown is a symptom of an "I want mine first" society.  We need a bandaid while we set it right, and perhaps that band-aid is the bailout package before congress.  But, the long term solution and the real recovery will take years, a generation or more.  A trickle-down economy, from the rich to the poor, is not the answer.  A ripple-out effect from our homes, to our children, to our communities, to our state governments, regional and national leaders has created the current circumstances, and it offers the only permanent resolution.

I am --and you are--  in-charge of and bear the burden for the direction in which this country is pointed.  It's not our teachers, our kids, or our government who screwed up.  It's us.  We failed to be the example they need to follow. We failed to hold them liable for irresponsible conduct.   The good news is: every day is another opportunity to get it right.  We know in our hearts what to do.   We must listen when that still small voice tells us not to reward bad behavior.

Showing up as an informed voter on November 4 will be a good illustration of what must be done every day to fulfill our obligation to this generation and the next.  I will be there.