We live in the age where politics has become the art of pandering, filled with false identities and glorified personalities, and it has caused the dissolution of the intellectual voter.

Politics should be personal because it is about the people, for the people and with the people, but we should not falter on sound judgment through the misconception that because politics is personal that we ought to vote based on personalities. When we do so, we lose the ability to discern the policies, especially those that drive dreams, convictions, reform and ideas.

Politics is about policies not personalities. If we accept character as the defining trait of a politician, we position logic and principle down the list. This concept is what gave the power of Washington D.C. to the lobbyists, the special interest groups and the political action committees. We need to take back that power and put it where it belongs, in the hands of the people. When we vote for policy, especially those that match our beliefs and convictions, we take back the power and allow those we vote for to exercise that power for us.

When we vote for personality, we become the reason government is broken and our dreams are lost. The greatest advocates for transformation and improvement within this country had an introverted demeanor. Our Constitution starts with "we the people," not "we the government," and in a democracy people bring about great positive change by allowing their convictions to be reflected by our politicians' policies.

Moreover, the political correctness movement that has swept across this country has allowed the age of dissipated structure and reform. The founding fathers of this country devised the framework that we operate by with the intention of incorporating faith within our government.

Contemporary history shows us that evangelical Christians lean generally toward the conservative side and elect Republicans, usually because of the pro-life stance. When we disseminate the political parties, we find that Republican policies usually cater to the rich and abandon the poor, and Democratic policies embrace big government, historically identified as socialism.

Republicans are big business and Democrats are big government. What about big people? Churches typically decline to preach politics, so who do the people turn to? Our country is hastily spiraling out of control in the essence of our Christian convictions.

We need a new party, one that rejects lobbying and special interests, one that embraces the people and the power they hold. One day I look forward to entering the world of politics to denounce the power of the corporations and government and reclaim the power of the people. Our present-day politicians appear to have graduated from the college of elitism and affluence.

We the people formed a union to escape oppression; we the people industrialized a superpower; we the people survived the greatest economic disaster; we the people stormed the beaches of Normandy and defended freedom during mankind's darkest hours; and we the people provide aide for those in need across our country and around the world.

We the people need to band together and with a unifying voice remind Washington D.C. that this country is not where it is today because of we the government or we the corporations but because of we the people.

Anthony Furey
Gainesville

Changing intersection lights could save gas
Here's a simple plan with minimal or no costs to the taxpayer with benefits to everyone who drives a car. We will use less gas, move quicker and, most important, people will not be wasting gas while going nowhere. A good traffic engineer could make Gainesville the fastest moving city in the world.

At intersections in every part of the city, cars sit in traffic often waiting for red lights to turn green, yet there are no cars using the lanes which have the green light.

In Europe many of the intersections are not stop-and-go, but a continuous flow on a roundabout. It's too expensive to convert our intersections, but we can adopt a method to have the same result.

For most major intersections, there should be a blinking green for the most frequently used lane of travel, and a blinking yellow for the least-used lane, particularly at certain hours such as 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. This system would permit all vehicles to move and use gas to travel, not idle at red stoplights.

Even during daylight hours, at certain intersections -- such as West Avenue at Washington, Joe Chandler Road and Old Cornelia Highway and thousands of similar intersections where cars turn right or left -- a blinking yellow and blinking green would permit no costly delays and prevent use of gas while the car is stationary.

Talk about conserving gas; at today's prices this system could probably save every driver $20 a week or more and reduce pollution significantly. The acceleration from a dead stop burns more gas, not to mention all the gas that is wasted when the car is stopped at a red light.

Someone somewhere please give it a try.

Troy R. Millikan
Gainesville

Propaganda machines covering up the truth
Propaganda, by definition, is a deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions and direct behaviors to achieve a desired agenda. Truth is not part of that equation, apparently.

Again we see the propaganda machines revving up to a higher level than normal. TV networks that proclaim to report the facts of the day suggest things that never happened, but could, maybe. News radio stations report little news compared to the politically motivated shows they air every day that report things that were never said, never seen and never happened.

Newspapers, who have been the last line of defense for truth, don't bother to straighten any of this out, and in many cases own the TV and radio stations that are doing it. Why? If truth really means what we claim it does to others, why do we spend so much time and money avoiding it when we elect our leaders?
If your agenda will not stand up to the truth, it has to be bad; otherwise you would not need propaganda to sell it. Until we, as supposedly intelligent people, are able to see through this maze of bull and simply look at the issues that will affect us all as American citizens, we will continue be governed by idiots, morons and undesirables as we are today.

The greatest threat or our democracy is American citizens who do not respect others' right to a difference of opinion.

Terry Gilbreath
Suwanee