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From the minute congressman John Campbell started speaking yesterday, I knew he was one of the most sensible and well-rounded republicans I've ever come across. He had original, fresh ideas which, despite being somewhat conservative, were practical and rational. His thoughts on withdrawal from Afghanistan due to costly and uneffective practices, the social security/ medicare payment issues, and the healthy partisan competition in congress were all intriguing and interesting, something you don't usually see in the republican party. However, I do belive his excellent speaking skills made his ideas sound good any way he put them. If the Dwayne Roberts could talk like Mr. Campbell, the world wouldn't have a problem with global warming. All jokes aside, though, I did find one thing Mr. Campbell did not impress me with. And, to be honest, that one thing in the reason why I strongly disagree with the right side and with politics in general.

Money. It makes the world go around, right? It's what we strive for most and what makes us (most of us) happy. Politics, then, i guess, is about making the most money for the richest, most powerful nation on this planet. All this talk about deregulation of business and lifting taxes and decreasing spending is all a ploy to get the rich richer and to keep the "American Dream" alive and well. Accordingly, every issue Mr. Campbell spoke about was rooted in how we could profit from it or how we could save money.

Now, I'm not saying money isn't important. It indeed is and is a necessary evil in this world. But, money isn't everything, no matter what the republicans say. Doesn't the place we live add up to something? Isn't the way we treat others something as important as profits and capitalism? Is being the richest nation on earth a symbol of status, or a symbol of greed?

I want to see politics start working for the people again; not for the people's money. America is lost in a capitalistic fever where life is a never-ending race to an unreachable finish line of perfects. We want the perfect business environments, the perfect unemployment rates, the perfect jobs, the perfect paychecks and the perfect way to spend our hard earned cash. The sad reality is that nothing in this life is perfect. Let's embrace it instead of killing our earth, it's people, and it's soul in the race to be the best. Let's return to simpler ways and use the earth we were given in the way it was intended to be used. Go green if you want humanity to realize what's really important in this life.