Campaign Ads Make Me Feel Good bout Myself

I think I will quit my job. As I see it, the governement and the banks are to blame when I make poor financial decisions. I shouldn't have to worry about a "budget" or whether or not I can "afford" something. This is America! I have the unalienable right to a high-definition television and an SUV! Everyone deserves a $200 haircut and $500 pair of shoes.

The opportunity to work hard and make a life for myself and my family is soooooooooo 18th-century idealism/the basis for our democracy. Opportunity is lame. I am entitled to everything Bill Gates has. Nevermind that I haven't invented anything (nevermind that I really think I had the idea for the Pasta Pot before there was a Pasta Pot). In fact, what little I have earned in my life isn't really mine, per se. What about everyone else? What about the people who majored in medaival studies with a minor in philosophy and have been disillusioned by the lack of jobs requiring their particular brand of knowledge? So what if I made an informed decision based on our aging population to major in something with a direct translation into the working world? My husband lucked into being an Air Force pilot with very little hard work, and our collective salaries should be taxed and distributed to people who get knocked-up after high school so they can get their check (not making that up).

I am not naive or bitter enough to think that everyone who is in financial trouble deserves it. There are good and hard-working people who fall on difficult times, and this is not directed at said people. I just watched a political propaganda advertisement on my HDTV (party unimportant), and there was a reference to the fact that we the American people have "done our part" and have been let down by the government and banks. Let us not be fooled into believeing that. We all need a pat on the back every now and then to make us feel better, but this is not the time, lest people start thinking thay made good decisions because candidate A or B or Nader is trying to win us over. It is just like when I go to The Gap and try on a pair of Size 4 jeans and they fit when I know perfectly well that I am a size 8 (sometimes 6 on a good day). You best believe I bought those Size 4 pants, but deep down I know what I am. In the same way that I know that buying a Size 6 with a Size 4 label isn't going to make me any skinnier, the American people should be aware that a candidate buttering us up, doesn't make us responsible, successful, contributing members of society.