Cause or Cure

"How small, of all that human hearts endure, that part which laws or kings can cause or cure."

-- Samuel Johnson

Politics is a straw dog, a bogeyman, a red herring -- OK, I'm running out of metaphors here -- let's just say, along with Sammy J, that politics, government, laws, etc., are highly overrated in both their causative and curative properties. We love to discuss them, though, and blame them. And fume and fret and fuss.

All that pissing and moaning keeps us from having to look at the real cause of our happiness or unhappiness -- ourselves. To find out why our lives are the way they are, we don't need the morning paper, or Katie Couric, or the latest blog entry, we only need a mirror. The numero uno causo is staring right back at us.

I'm not saying don't vote, or don't support the candidates and policies of your choice. By all means involve yourself in the political process as much as you want. Just don't expect it to make a hell of a lot of difference in terms of the overall quality of your life. The quality of your personal life lies squarely on your shoulders.

And so think about all the time you invest in/waste on talking about, keeping up with, thinking about, and bemoaning the political players and processes. Can that time be put to more happy and productive use? You bet your sweet ass it can!

Start today. We've got four more God-awful, long months until the presidential election. You already know which candidate you're voting for, so turn off the damn TV and go do something else. Something fun. Something exhilarating. Something meaningful. Something that improves the quality of your life. You'll have four long years to blame Obama or McCain. For now, take your life into your own hands and reap the rewards.