Coffee Candid-uh-see

'Tis the season to knock on doors, wave signs at busy intersections and proudly debate your favorite candidates for public office. It seems there's always a hot debate on the table that candidates focus their agenda to during campaign season. Politicians rarely speak of the "change" that they will impose on policy once already in office. It's all about the campaigning before the vote and the politicians know this. Whether you're democratic, republican, tea party patriot, green, socialist or even libertarian paternalist, you're probably well aware of the campaign agenda hype. Say what everyone wants to hear and you're in. Once you're in, it's hard to change the status quo, then politicians look even worse because they didn't succeed in doing what their campaign promised.

I personally don't blame them, the way I see it, they're just doing their job. A lot of people practice this. Imagine if you did exactly what you do at work, just at home. Of course this may be the case in some situations, but what about careers where you have to be someone completely different from who you actually are. Imagine working at a customer service counter in any retail establishment. All day, you hear customer complaints about products or services. You are well mannered and retain any expletives to yourself, then address the customer as if both parties are having a calm conversation, even though the other party is not. If this were to happen within your own home, or your car for you road-ragers, you would probably speak your mind, quite frankly as a matter of fact. The problem that is being addressed here, is that jobs and careers shouldn't change people. Wouldn't life be so much simpler if everyone were just themselves, even while they worked. The solution is in the coffee...

If I were running for government office, an interview of myself would be like so.

"Mr. Sicat, how do you feel about our current economy?" asks a reporter.

"Well, our current economy is the same as it always has been. Good for some, bad for others. Expecting the same results with all of your daily activities without regard to the state of your region's financial stability is definitive cause for failure. If you are not synchronized with your surroundings, you're bound to stick out one way or another," I'd reply.

"Since you dodged that question, how are you going to better our educational system?"

"I'd raise taxes and funnel that extra income directly into the board of education's fiscal budget," I'd reply.

"Raise taxes?"

"Yeah, raise taxes. Where else is the money gonna come from? If the people want better public education for their children, then pay for it," I'd reply.

"Mr. Sicat, you do understand that raising taxes is a direct means to put your opponent in a better position to take the seat that you are running for, right?"

"I'm well aware of that. Money doesn't just appear out of the blue."

"Alright, moving on, are you pro-choice or not?"

"I could care less. What does a medical decision have to do with budgeting a government?" I'd reply.

The interviewer glares at me, then asks, "Mr. Sicat, are you seriously running for office? The answers you have provided me are something I would hear during a morning conversation at the office coffee machine. If you want to gain voter's trust, you'll have to answer the questions truthfu.......ahem, I see."

I would then moonwalk away and bob my head to an imaginary (black) Michael Jackson beat.