Independence

What if the Republicans and Democrats held a party - and no one came? What if millions of us who have worn the party label for longer than we can recall, for reasons that have lost their season, suddenly decided to declare our independence? After all, America's mission right now is to spread democracy to parts of the world where it has failed to take root or where its roots are in peril. Well, the roots of my democracy bush are in trouble. The way I see it, the well being of that bush is manifest in the leaves on the branches in Washington DC. Maybe because it's January; maybe because God only brought big rain to the Gulf coast last year; but those leaves are dead, dying, drying up, and dropping like ... well ... leaves. That bush is not doing well. I blame it on the parties that the Rebs and the Dims are holding along the Potomac - they suck; so it's time for millions of us to decide not to go to them any more. Let's go have a beer and a burger together at some place on the community corner where everyone knows our name.

In the last 10 days I've listened to a member of my family, a good friend, and a colleague at work, declare that they're on the verge of changing their voter registration to "Independent". Two of them are registered as Rebs and one as a Dim. They're fed up; frustrated; mad as hell; and seriously thinking about not taking it anymore. They're tired of being represented by men and women who don't, in fact, represent them in any meaningful way. They think the branches on the representative democracy bush need to be pruned, big time. They're in accord - the sound of a big-ass set of hedge trimmers has a certain melodic ring to it. I agree with them. Let's declare our independence once again, like we mean it. Forget about the hedge trimmers - we need to fire up the chain saws. More to come - I've got to go sharpen the chain.