News Junkie

So I have become a news junkie, squandering many hours on the internet reading up on the political situation in Wisconsin.  I devotedly check the Journal Sentinel online for updates from the Capitol, listen to Wisconsin Public Radio in the car, and have local news casts droning in the background of my life.  It is addicting and disheartening all at the same time.

I was already disillusioned with politics to begin with but now I can surely hear the great forefathers of these United States rolling in their graves.  Perhaps in a truly American fashion, we have taken our two-party political system to levels of previously unseen division.  We have lost the ability to find middle ground; instead, one party or the other steadfastly holds their position and throws mud until they get their way.  People are asked to choose sides, moderation be damned.

It is my hope that my children's generation will look upon these years with scrutinizing eyes.  May they recognize that when both sides give a little, more people benefit.   It is not about who's right but rather what is best for any given situation.   May they understand that things do not need to be categorized into either black or white; it is okay to accept a little gray in one's life.  Most of all may they recognize that we were human and we made mistakes; may they forgive us for our decisions that so greatly affected their lives.

And the news coverage drones on - Chaos at the Capitol.  No one is winning and ultimately everyone will lose.