Clarksdale, Coahoma County, Mississippi and much of this great country head to the polls next week to choose our elected officials.
I hope we get it right this time.
One of the things newspapermen have to guard against as their career moves forward is cynicism.
Hope spring eternal from the heart of this journalist who firmly believes everyone reads every crumb I write and recognize it for the truth it is.
As we get older we realize how easily the public is fooled and how quickly even those politicians elected on a platform of change become the status quo. Most politicians in positions of power don’t like the truth. Most could care less what you think.
Well, I’m not that old yet. Please continue reading my work, and maybe, just maybe this time it will be different.
Party Politics
I will ask you, are you a Democrat or a Republican?
Don’t tell me you vote for the man. That’s an easy answer and quite evasive. And besides, the man you vote for is either a member of the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.
The modern Democratic Party emphasizes egalitarianism, social equality, protecting the environment, and strengthening the social safety net through liberalism. And I can buy into some of that.
It is also the “Party of the Big Tent,” and when you look deeper into that it gets sort of muddy for me.
Currently, the Republican Party is identified by classical liberalism, conservatism and right-wing policies. Look those terms up in a dictionary and I will bet most of Clarksdale will agree they support those principles.
But not all Republicans believe in the same things, but generally these are the concepts most Republicans can agree on. But that is also my problem with Republicans. They are a fractured lot and they push agendas that support a more centralized government aimed more at helping big business and the powers-that-be, rather than middle class and poverty-stricken Americans.
All of this is national politics and I want you to think back just 10 short years ago. We didn’t concern ourselves with elections in Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania. Well, we do today.
National parties on both the left and right have pushed their machines down into local politics.
Working together
Psst! Let me tell you my brilliant observation after having lived in your community for three whole years -- Coahoma County will vote Democrat on Tuesday.
But hear this; Mississippi has seen the fastest and most dramatic rise in Republican candidates and voters of any state in the Union over the past 10 years.
It has become very difficult to be part of the plan if you have a “D” after your name in Jackson.
I don’t care how great your idea is or how strong your voting block is, if you can’t work with the powers that be, you will be relegated to the sidelines.
I hope this is the election where this country elects national politicians who seek to work for the betterment of this state and not just do the bidding of their political bosses.
I hope this is the year we elect men and women of intellect who are smart enough to bring new ideas to the table.
I hope this is the year Mississippi embraces change, innovation and unique solutions to our state’s unique problems.
Please look at the political cartoon above and realize people are hurting in this state and we need to work together.
My father once said politics and marriage are the art of compromise.
Now, let me see if I can figure out how Sara is going to vote.
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He has voted for Democrats and Republicans at all levels of government for more than 40 years. He has been happily married to Sara for 33.
