The GOP

What does the GOP stand for anymore? And by stand for, I mean what do they believe in? Although it may also be useful to come up with a new acronym for them. How about Group Of Porkers? They just tapped Hal Rogers, known as the "Prince of Pork" to head the House Appropriations Committee. Which sends exactly the kind of message they've always wanted to send to the American people: an inconclusive one. Am I right? (When I ask that question, it's ALWAYS rhetorical.) They campaigned on slashing federal spending. It got them elected, allowed them to sweep into Congress like a river flooding its banks. And now some other things are going to overflow; namely, your taxes, their spending, and of course, their lies. Pretty much all given.

Which is why people need to learn how to vote as if the letters "D" and "R" didn't exist. While the Republican platform (well, what's left of it) seems to be a remedy for America's "situation" (okay, maybe not, but it used to), it's not like they'll follow it. In the end, Democratic politicians and Republican politicians are still politicians. They're more bipartisan than they'll admit, because they're both exactly the same.

I swear, half of voting Americans would be clueless at the polls without the letters "D" and "R." No one votes on principles or voting record anymore; they simply vote on the basis of race, religion, party, or sex. Honestly? No wonder we're so screwed up. This is how we choose the people who run our country. I bet most of us just flip a coin every time we make a choice, am I right?

I'm fourteen and I have more convictions than a lot of voting Americans. And yet I can't vote. But YOU can. I'm doing all I can here, which is, sadly, not much. I'm going to D.C. this January for the March for Life. In second grade and since I've written our Presidents and other elected officials, including Ben Nelson, that... ahem, idiot... from Nebraska. But I don't have the power of voting. I can only influence those who do.

Sadly, they'd rather take advice from a genie or a flipped coin than a politically active teenager. So.

Why are we letting this happen? Why can't the GOP be the Grand Old Party anymore? Why are they just Good Old Politicians or Group Of Porkers? Is this America? Really? Is that the best you can do?

We fought Great Britain for our independence and won. We fought OURSELVES and won. That takes some freaking skill. We're fighting terrorists! We're fighting! And yet most of us are sitting here at home, watching the news and MOCKING our troops, criticizing them for giving their lives for us, complaining about elected officials but not having our own convictions, not doing so much as writing to one of them. Really? We're viewed around the world as the selfish fatties. Among other things. We view OURSELVES that way. We actually debate over whether or not to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school. We debate over whether or not we should be treating terrorists so meanly. And yet we kill babies. We save trees and terrorists, but we screw babies. We burn our flags, we slam our own country. Do you realize that every time you slam America, you're attesting to its greatness? In other countries, you slam your nation, you're DEAD. Dead. We don't realize how great our nation is.

And if we don't realize how great it is, we can't realize how hard, fast, and far it's falling.

So wake up. Realize that there is more to the world than pop culture and... well, pop culture. Realize that you need to realize things. And realize them. Realize your dreams, your hopes, your ambitions. Have convictions. Love your country, or leave. Support your troops or go fight against them, because that's just as bad.

You're American. YOU. ARE. THE. LUCKIEST. PERSON. ON. THIS. PLANET. If you don't like America, leave or make it better (often, there's little difference between the two c:).

Maybe you're going through a tough time. Yes, the economy is bad, no matter what Barry-O tells you. It might not get better for a long time; it'll probably get worse, especially with all these politicians running around. But that's the thing about America: things get bad. But things get better. In America, yes, you're free to fall.

But you're free to fly.

You're also free to take that freedom away, so watch it.

DO something. Or something like that.

Don't be like that Group Of Porkers. Don't be a Good Old Politician. Don't be a God Of Pitifulness. Don't be a... yes, I'm sitting bored in class so I'm trying to think up acronyms. Anyway. To put it simply:

DON'T BE AN IDIOT.

You're free to be an idiot, of course. But you're also free to make a change. In your life, in someone else's. It starts with one small change.

I'd start now, before you give your freedom so freely away.