Dirty Politicians

Hello! Dani here, filling in for my mother.
*Cue Hallelujah Chorus*
Listen to that sweet sound of, oh, WHAT'S THAT, nothing?!?! Yes, the house is perfectly quiet at the moment, save my stupid cat prancing about. My mom and brothers have gone to East Texas for the next three days with Cara, and possibly Kristi, and their boys, which leaves my dad and me with the house until Wednesday afternoon. No cries of "Ian, give it back!" or "Boys, no more screaming!" or "But he started it!". No tattling or whining or too-loud TV. No sharing the computer. This is the first time in my recent memory that both my mom and my brothers have been gone simultaneously, so to celebrate this strange but gladly welcomed phenomenon my mom has asked me to blog in her stead.

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My junior year is approaching quickly, and I'm ready to welcome it warmly. This has been an abnormally long summer. The school year ended at its usual time, - around the later side of the middle of May - but the school year is starting about two weeks later than usual, and will now run slightly into June. I'm not exactly complaining. Who wouldn't be grateful for an extra two weeks of vacation? But I'm also anticipating seeing my friends again, going out to lunch, having a reason to get dressed every day, and, *gasp*, starting my new classes.

I went to get my schedule this past week, only to find that for the second consecutive year, the school counselors had succeeded in giving me several classes I definitely didn't ask for. This year's conflicts weren't nearly as hellish as last year's, though, and I was able to resolve them over the phone. My correct schedule now consists of: Honors Pre-Cal B/Calculus A, AP (Advanced Placement, or the equivelent of a college level course) Chemistry, A Capella Choir, PE, AP Psychology (the latter two are semester courses), AP Latin 4, AP Us History, and AP English 4. Whew. Full schedule. But, being the nerd that I am, I'm looking forward to it. I'm only worried that I'm going to be juggling five AP classes...that includes studying for them all at the end of the year so I can pass the AP tests and get actual college credit. 0.0

I think the reason I'm looking forward to this year so much is because I can finally see how the next six years of my life are shaping up, and I'm ready to begin them. Since last year's spring semester, I have taken an interest in politics, and am planning on pursuing that as a career, whether as a politician or simply in some sort of field where I can affect the way things are done. I've been shaping my own opinions, but I remain fairly moderate on most issues.

I've begun reading Barak Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, mostly because many of my friends support him, but don't really know why. I like what he says in his book, and he's unquestionably an excellent writer, but I can't help but notice an enormous amount of hypocrisy in what he says. Being moderate myself, I can see where he, as a Democrat, is constantly bashing his opposing party and making his own party out as the poor, downtrodden do-gooders. Obama doesn't stand alone in this political standard of name calling and negativity. There was an article today on FoxNews about the other Democratic candidates bashing Obama himself.

But that's politics, I suppose. There's been a few times when I've watched the news or read an article on the presidential hopefuls, and thought to myself, "What on earth am I volunteering myself up for?" But being somewhat naive about most of today's issues, I still plan on changing the world and being a peacemaker. That's something I hope I don't lose with my naivety.

Inspired by all these recent happenings, I wrote a song about the downfall of politics as I view it. Although somewhat satirical, I genuinely believe that these lyrics have some truth in them.

Beauty is irrelevant
In this world that's going blind
You know the so-called love you seek
Is the one you'll never find
We put our faith in TV ads
But remove "In God We Trust"
Who cares about the problems?
Let's just satisfy our lust

I say we kiss and make up
We should all just get along
If nothing else, we can all agree
That the other party's wrong

Freedom's just for crackheads
And those sitting on their throne
You cry independence,
But you don't dare to stand alone
We elect the dirty politicians
To lead this dirty nation
We've all just stopped caring
And tuned in to our own station

I say we kiss and make up
We should all just get along
If nothing else, we all can agree
That the other party's wrong

Good morning, America
You've all slept in
Haven't you heard,
It's not World War III we're in
It's the civil war all over again
And we can't win

So I say we kiss and make up
Why can't we all just get along?
There's nothing we can seem to agree on
Except that the other party's wrong

© Dani Kocur 2007