Are you as disappointed as I?

Are you as disappointed in our elected leadership as I? Are you downright angry at those people in Washington, D.C., in their absolute failure to keep the sequester from becoming a reality? Or the delusional bills being put forth in Juneau such as SJR 9 and HB 69? Those two make me wonder as to just what was being passed around the day they were proposed; my cousin’s “special” brownie recipe perhaps? They had to be stoned on something to come up with this crud.

From local city, borough, state and federal government, there has been nothing but disappointment and shear frustration at the inaction and delusional actions of all of them. No matter what the party, I hold them all in such contempt. I feel we have been let down by the endless finger-pointing; the bile of the rhetoric from shock jocks whose egos match the size of their large posteriors and others of that ilk; and the result is the polarization of both of the parties to the point that nothing gets done.

Then there is the fact of some of those in office are just in for power. That they feel somehow above us all and forget just who they are supposed to work for. They become corrupt in the process with little regard for those who elected them in the first place. “We the people” has been supplanted by “shut up I’m anointed over you and know better.” Even worse is the notion that my party knows all and will not let anyone else have his say from another.

Both of those notions have led this state and this nation to a grinding halt. Now we will all pay for it in ways I shudder to think of. Just who is to blame for this god-awful mess?

Well for starters, everyone in Congress, past and current presidential administrations, all the political parties, and I hate to say it, all of us too. From those duped by super PAC ads, radio and TV to those who refused to exercise their right to vote from the disease known as apathy, we as a nation are to blame by allowing such stupidity to happen in the first place. Something must be done about it.

I, for one, would love to stand before the entire U.S. Congress and give them all an earful as only a good retired army NCO can deliver. You wouldn’t need a microphone for that performance. It would be heard easily from three blocks away, colorful language and all. Since I can’t do that in reality, I will let them know my anger and disappointment in the voting booth. (I still would love to give them a good cussing out.)

I will do the same thing on the local and state level. Not the chewing out, mind you (although they deserve it). I will vote those who I feel should be put out of office in favor of those I feel will do the job they are supposed to do.

Both the ideologues of conservatism and liberalism have gone to the extremes. Both need to be reigned in, the extremists removed from any positions of power and those with common sense brought back into the light of reason. We need not have to listen to the endless attack ads by both to tell us what to think. We need not have to put up with the likes of the PACs, super PACs or even, dare I say it, political parties. We can make up our own minds. None of their so-called views and help have done us any good at all. Just take one look at the mess in D.C. or Juneau is proof of that.

I believe I am not the only one feeling this way. I believe there are many more out there from Republican to Democrat, even Libertarian and all those in between feeling very disappointed in our elected leadership from Wasilla to Washington, D.C. I believe it is high time we wipe the smug, superior smiles off their faces and let them all know just who really is the boss.

Some sense of sanity must be put back. The concepts of bipartisanism and compromise should not be dirty words as some parties have tried to make them in recent years. Our country is built on those principles, not on one party over the other. By the way, both parties are made up of Americans. No one is a traitor for being a Democrat or Republican, nor for being a moderate or independent either. The endless bickering and infighting must stop. It’s time for Americans to clean house.

I’m not advocating any revolution or civil war as some kooks are saying (and which frightens me to no end). There are peaceful means to make our point. Petitions, picketing, letters to the editor, even articles in local papers and blogs are very good ways. But the most powerful tool we can use is the vote. That is far more powerful than the largest gun. Believe me, the one way to scare the bejeebers out of a politician is to just hint at voting him or her out of office. Who is the real boss of them all? Well it is simple and plain for all to read.

It is written on the first line of the greatest document ever written by free men. The Constitution of the United States of America begins like this: “We the People …”

Need I say more?

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.