I hope you enjoy this piece about politicians using the country as a toy for the benefit of themselves and their friends, and that it sets you thinking about who you're gonna choose for upcoming stuff. Have yourself a lovely day, and remember to be awesome to yourself and everyone you meet.
Political Motives by Mackinley Clevinger, February 25, 2016
In the current election ongoing in America, it is well known that a hot-topic of debate is how the country should handle the influx of immigrants fleeing the destruction of their home country when they seek refuge in the United States of America. It is an oft-brought up talking point, and the decision a candidate makes on this topic typically falls in line with their party; the Democratic candidates want to supply aid and integrate these desperate people into the country, while Republican candidates want to shut the doors on the, using colorful and hateful rhetoric in doing so. This is, of course, a gross simplification, as the political grouping being examined in this piece contains members from both parties; it works more as a generalization, and in any important political matter it is vital that you research potential candidates to be as informed as you are able.
I believe that a helping hand should always be given so as to spread a message of peace and brotherhood to all of mankind, and that turning away from someone in aid is a heartless and inhuman thing to do, especially in this current situation wherein they are victims of extremist groups that America had a hand in the creation of. (Seriously. America has really messed up that part of the world.) However, that is not the subject of this piece of writing. These same politicians who want to bar the way of progress for refugees seeking a safe haven also take great pride in vowing to destroy many government services that provide badly needed support to the citizens who they are trying to convince to vote for them, and yet they often succeed in garnering that support despite obvious objections because they know how to manipulate voters into simply not caring.
Many of these politicians will also hold a rigid view on the current refugee crisis, demonizing the victims of a struggle that they neither caused or could do anything about given the mass involvement of other countries’ military efforts in that region. They hold fast on refusing to give aid or shelter to these people, going so far as to say that they will forcefully evict the largely Muslim population that has found a haven from the disorder that ruined their lives. These politicians say it’s for the protection of the country, that all these refugees will follow suite with the few and far between occasions where acts of terror have occurred that can be attributed to an extremist minority that happen to share in their religion. They maintain that allowing these refugees, or any foreigners, would see an influx of government costs to care for a social group that wouldn’t contribute to the country welcoming them, and would increase crime and all other kinds of societal evil. This is completely false, and has been proven by numerous occasions of foreigners immigrating to America and contributing more to their host country than born residents, while also using fewer of the government services, oftentimes opening businesses and, in general, being a boon on the country they have arrived in.
In spite of this, these politicians continue to spread the same misinformation in the hopes of turning the populace against refugees and foreigners, the desperation of fears born from lies leading many to blindly support them, ignoring the truth about immigrants and what these politicians plan on doing once in power. They’re able to drum up all kinds of support by instilling a fictional fear in the minds of citizens, presenting themselves as the solution to all of society’s issues at the low-cost of refusing aid to thousands desperately in need of even the smallest hand given freely. This is a big enough distraction to the voters, obsessed with a newfound and ungrounded fear that turns them against anyone not like themselves, that they will entirely ignore the ulterior motives of these politicians so long as they promise to act as a bulwark between the people and everyone else in the world.
This move works extremely well for politicians with ulterior motives who are capable of running on a platform of such obvious jingoistic intentions. With control of a large political body funded by a dedicated voting base, they have effectively cut out having to spend money on helping refugees integrate into their country as well as being able to severely cut spending on government services for the public, leaving a considerable amount of money in float to be put into avenues more beneficial for their own interests and that of their fellow, rich, friends. To put it simply, these are very, very bad men and women who do this, seeing government as a means to an end in promoting the collection of wealth in the very few at any cost to the public’s standards of living and freedom. Deporting anyone who isn’t classified as America, not allowing anyone else in, and promoting a pervading air of fear of anyone who is different will create a climate more welcoming to go to horrific extremes to protect themselves against a shadow threat, giving more power and control to the same people who have publicly stated and proven that their bottom line lies in their pocket, not in the needs of the people.
America, and any country where this manner of thing happens, has immense power on a global scale, able to shape the progress of worldwide events that will impact literally millions of people. It is the job of the people within their country to help direct it by electing the kinds of officials who have not just said that have honest intentions, but have proven it for the sake of earnest beliefs and not so that they may be elected. Giving in to fear instead of standing up to it or calling out a greedy man for the lies they propagate for their own interests has already led to too much injustice to both ourselves, and the uncountable victims of war crimes that will never be settled or fellow human beings who needed help, to whom we turned our back.
We need to be informed of our choices for government, to take the initiative and find out who-did-what and what these people are, honestly, going to do. We need to remember that a human being is a human being, deserving of respect regardless of their religion, race, or the language they speak. We need to remember that we are capable of truly amazing things when we take a stand and do what is right for not just ourselves, but for the entire world. We need to make sure that the person we vote for reflects these beliefs, and that we will not accept the kinds of greed and corruption that have become a hallmark for far too many of our politicians. There are too many of them who want to use us and our countries as a tool for self-gain at any cost, not an ounce of empathy or care in them for the people that are left behind the trail of ruin that they leave without any retribution or justice for the crimes they’ve done. Race and age aren’t just demographics, and the refugees aren’t just a social issue to discuss. We are people who need to be treated responsibly and with respect, and if a politician is obstinate in their refusal to do that, then we have a way of sending them a very clear message by leaving their ass in the dust and electing someone who does actually care.