The other day I was participating in a Facebook 'discussion' about politics. A resident in another township was complaining about politicians who get elected and then 'forget to serve the people who put them there'. There was then a discussion about what, exactly, that means, followed by a conversation about how politicians claim they are 'just trying to do the right thing' and what, exactly, does THAT mean?
It was interesting to see how differently people interpret those concepts. I observed that I've learned when it comes to politics, no matter what you do, someone's going to be unhappy with you, so you might as well choose a well-thought out course of action and have the courage of your convictions to stick your neck out defending it. And, your version of what's right and mine can be vastly at odds with each other, but we'll both express righteous indignation at the accusation that either of us wants anything less than 'the right thing' for our communities.
I also gave the opinion that in my experience 'not forgetting the people who put you there' is sometimes interpreted by politicians as needing to cater to special interests. I've seen it here in Lower Providence; how the needs of the few are sometimes held to be more important than what benefits the overall community. Tell me: are there any four or five residents here who are more important than you are? Or your family? Your neighborhood? Quick, tell me who they are so we can all quit fighting about it and go rake leaves or something.
So tell me, what do those things mean to you? When you elect a candidate to some office, what, exactly, do you expect?
