Politics

Here in the USA as the Presidential Election approaches the news is full of politics.

I wish I had a bumper sticker that said "If you don't vote, don't gripe" because lots of people who complain all the time don't bother to vote.

Does voting by ordinary citizens really make a difference? Well, maybe only a very small one, but it's certainly more likely to influence how things are done than not voting.

Unfortunately almost nobody in a high political office is likely to vote for anything that offends the people who finance their campaigns. It would be nice if campaign donations were illegal and the government provided equal amounts for all candidates to notify the public of their qualifications and stands on political issues. But since the people who could make that happen benefit from the way things are now, that probably won't change.

I understand in Canada they have three major political parties instead of two so if there's a split the third party always breaks the tie.  Maybe someday in the US a third party will become equal to the two major ones, but that's not likely to happen in the near future.

Since there's no mention of political parties in the Constitution maybe it should be illegal for Congress to differentiate between them but, again, the people who have the authority to let that happen would be opposed to it so it won't be allowed.

Yes, our system is flawed in many ways, but ordinary citizens do have a voice and can make a difference in the world if we let our opinions be heard, and voting is one way we can do that.