The Three Things I Detest

I'm normally an easy-going kind of guy, but when Election Season comes about I turn into a raving lunatic!

The three things I hate about America are, in order:

1. Politics
2. Politicians
3. Elections

Here's why:

POLITICS:

The thing about Politics is that it's not about keeping a nation (state/county/city) endowed with leaders who will best serve the electorate.   It's about finding a way to cajole honest folks into supporting some other guy in who doesn't have the same priorities as I do, but they don't look at the things which are important to me; they look at the things that will get some totally incompetent Willy Loman elected because he has a fresh-blocked hat and a shine on his shoes.

POLITICIANS:

A good politician isn't one who will look out for your best interests; he's the guy that can get elected.
Never mind if he is morally suspect or dumb as a box of rocks, he's got charisma and doesn't pick his nose in public (or at least, not when the cameras are on him).

A "Good Politician" is a snake-oil salesman who keeps his mistress hidden, and his wife accepts his peccadilloes because she might end up The First Lady of Ward 7.   If he is on the graft, he doesn't go out and buy a fancy car the day after he gets "The Envelope" (stuffed full of case, courtesy of his sponsors).  This allows him to vote for the causes of his 'contributors' with a free conscience.

Any man who runs for election to public office must have an ulterior motive.  It may be personal vanity, or the wish to be liked; it may be the power of the position; it may be because he just can't make it in private industry (but he looks and talks "real good!").

Or it might be because he has done so well in his career, this is the next step up on the ladder of success.

The worst of the candidates are those who have a "Vision".  You want to steer clear of these evangelists, because their vision is probably not yours.

ELECTIONS:

This is the very worst part.  Politicians pander to private parties.  You might want to write that down.
No matter what they say (it's all a lie), their sole goal is to get elected to high public office.  The day of "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" is over.  Dead as Chivalry.   Serious as a Heart Attack. Pick your poison, as sure as hell, sooner or later your elected official will turn out to be a Felon.

Now we are involved in a Presidential Election which has selected (as the primary candidates on each side) The Creep and The Crook.

This is the best America has to offer?

 We are obliged to choose between two candidates, neither of which an honest, self-respecting person would invite to dinner in their home?

The American political process was designed to allow our citizens to choose between The Best of The Best; but in a few days we will have to choose between The Least Horrible of the Awful.

Frankly, I'm relying on Scott Adams for political guidance.

The Crook Versus the Monster | Scott Adams' Blog:

The biggest illusion this election is that we think the people on the other side can’t see the warts on their own candidate. But I think they do. Clinton supporters know she is crooked, but I think they assume it is a normal degree of crookedness for an American politician. Americans assume that even the “good” politicians are trading favors and breaking every rule that is inconvenient to them. I’ve never heard a Clinton supporter defend Clinton as being pure and honest. Her supporters like her despite her crookedness.

 Likewise, Trump supporters know what they are getting. They know he’s offensive. They know he’s under-informed on policies. They know he pays as little in taxes as possible. They know he uses bankruptcy laws when needed. They know he ignores facts that are inconvenient to his message. They just don’t care. They want to push the monster into Washington D.C., close the door, and let him break everything that needs to be broken. Demolition is usually the first step of building something new. And Trump also knows how to build things when he isn’t in monster mode.

This isn't "The Answer", but at least it's one viewpoint which has attempted to provide a quick summary of our National Quandry.

And Scott Adams is not among the things I detest.
Perhaps it's because I'm a Dilbert at heart.