Politics

When I was a young kid, in third grade, I was very interested in politics, and I liked at that time Harry Truman. It was in 48 that he won against Thomas Dewey of New York. I think that was the beginning of my interest in politics. For years I liked the Democrats who were in my opinion a group of intellectuals, and so I followed the likes of Adlai Stevenson and finally John F. Kennedy. They all appealed to the mind. I knew that Dwight Eisenhower was a favorite due to his role as victorious general of the war, but being from Ohio, Robert Taft was then known as Mr. Republican, and Ohio at that time was a very Republican state. In high school debate, I even took the side of being for the federal government asserting its authority in certain government practices. If the local or state government would not provide the necessary services, then the federal government had the right to assert its role so that certain needs would be met. In fact, this is exactly what happened in the cause of civil rights for neglected groups of people. I am really more a federalist thinking person than a states rights person because I see the union like a train in many ways. It functions as a whole unit, and no car can move of itself without becoming a problem. The modern state should be like a streamlined bullet train in my opinion, so completely wholly fastened together that individual cars can not break apart and ruin the whole. Well, anyway, I had been enthusiastic about politics as a youngster. Time does cure all that eagerness to bring about a kind of change of attitude towards the entire game of politics. It seems to me that today in America, the citizens are the reason that the politicians have become so corrupted that we have become disillusioned with the system. The fact that politicians can actually give themselves salary raises, special benefits, and other self-serving goodies makes me indignant. No politican should be able to vote himself a raise without the backing and support of the community who has elected him. Changes must be met. Citizens must act in order for democracy to work well.