All left behind.

Here's a morose post. After listening to and reading a lot of news over the past few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that, as a voter, I don't exist unless it's election time. That's true for all voters. We're just a means to an end, an entity that ceases to exist once a politician is elected. We get politicians, whoever they are (Republican, Democrat, Other), elected to an office so they can fight amongst themselves autonomously of their voters' wishes, almost like Greek gods fighting in Olympus, having long forgotten about us mere mortals here on earth. They remember us when they need us and promptly forget us when they're distracted by something more important like who said what.

I think the abortion debate is a great example. If you look at the statistics, most people fall about in the middle on abortion. Most of us would prefer that it wasn't needed; however, most people are also realists and think it should be a decision between a woman, her doctor and her conscience. But if you ask a Republican politician, all us liberals want to be out killing babies; if you ask a Democrat politician, all the Republicans want to force women to carry to term, regardless of the consequences. Each side has so demonized the other. But if you ask a person on the street, it seems like the most common answer is, "Well, I don't like the idea, but it should probably be legal or at least up to the state to legislate."

It's that type of disconnect that bothers me so much. It seems like virtually every elected official has completely lost sight of the people they were elected to represent in the first place and now must fit some caricature of one side or the other. I hate that. It tells me that I can get someone elected, but it'll be pure luck that results in a country that more closely resembles the one I want to live in. And that absolutely sucks.