I voted today.

I voted today. I'm not bragging or patting myself on the back. I don't buy the "if you don't vote you can't complain" argument because I think that while some people don't vote because they are lazy or saddled with inertia, others use their non-participation as a vote of no confidence or, more bluntly, a way to say "Fuck You" to the whole damaged process.

And I'll admit, I'm really close to being one of those people.

I vaguely recall a time when voting was a positive process, you actually voted for someone or something. "Yes! I want you to represent me! Yes, I like that plan, let's do it!" Now I find myself voting against things with little in the way of a credible alternative. It's kind of like deciding if I'd rather have twenty pounds of mud dumped on me or twenty pounds of horseshit. Either way, I'm gonna need a shower and that's how I feel after voting these days.

The entire system is a train wreck from top to bottom and anyone opting to participate deserves to be treated with a measure of distrust and suspicion. It's like seeing your local preacher walking into a porn emporium. Yeah, he might just need change for the parking meter but smart money says he's stocking up on latex and screw goo.

And even if the really good guys and gals get a handle on the process and manage to find a way to maneuver around the corruption and partisan bullshit, they can't possibly work for the common good because there is no common good anymore. We're a nitwit nation each blessed at birth with God-given rights and entitlements and we will have our way regardless of how it impacts others around us.

Compromise? That's for losers.
Compassion? Kiss my ass.
Consideration? Fuck you.

It's convenient to blame the politicians (and, to be sure, they deserve plenty of blame) but in a way they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do: They are representing the majority and the majority of us are fucking self-centered twats.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take a shower.