by Jamie Pancake

Created on: June 08, 2009   Last Updated: June 17, 2009

The average American has a family with at least one child and they also have a certain amount of debt. Car payments, utility bills, credit card bills and other monthly expenses dominate the way that the average American lives. People living paycheck to paycheck are the norm here in this country and things have gotten worse for the average American lately. Many have lost their jobs and they have little or no savings to live on while they look for work. Since the government is constantly trying to trim the budget, they are not much help to the average American.

Regardless of whether they are liberals or conservatives, most of the top decision makers in Washington, cannot relate to a situation like that because they have never had to live that way. They have either been raised by a family that has never had to pinch pennies to make sure that the bills were paid each month or they have been blessed with the type of income that a magnificent education has given to them.

Waiting in line at the local public assistance office to get health insurance for their children because they cannot afford to purchase private insurance has become a lot more commonplace than it was ten years ago. If the people in Washington ever had to seek the help that many Americans have to in order to ensure that their children never had to go hungry or without proper medical care, the system would function a lot differently.

The everyday life of the average American is very different from that of liberals and conservatives. This is one of the main reasons that there has been a decline in loyalty to the two main political parties in this country. Many Americans are beginning to feel disconnected from those who are wealthy and have strong ties to one political party or another because many of the members of the parties, either have a difficult time trying to relate to them because there is such a big difference or because they just do not care, but many people feel that they just do not care. The worse that things get for a majority of the working class, the more angry and disconnected that they will feel towards those that just are not interested in their problems.

For things to change in regards to the relationship between liberals, conservatives and average Americans, there needs to be a greater sense of empathy for those that are less fortunate than they are. Those who are in a position to help others should do so without much empathy. Even if they cannot help a lot, just the effort will mean a lot to the person who is being helped. In order to bring the citizens of this coutry closer together, there needs to be more empathy and less greed.

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