Gerrymandering

My post today actually has something to do with my last one (continuity? Glee writers, take some notes).
When we last spoke, I had something to say about Joe Pitts. Being the silly person that I am, I neglected to refer to the redistricting lines drawn up after the 2011 Census-- Pennsylvania lost a seat in the House of Representatives, going down to 18. Due to this, in addition to movement of population, the congressional district lines needed to be re-drawn.
Oh, and re-drawn they were.
Today we're going to talk about gerrymandering. It's when district lines are altered to better suit political parties, by drawing them around pockets of voters to ensure they're getting the votes they need to stay in office.
I'm under the impression that it's one of the things ruining the political system of the United States. These lines are being moved around to suit the legislators, with absolutely no concern for the constituents. Before they were re-drawn, my district consisted of the entirety of my county, a very rural area, the lower half of Chester County, also fairly rural, and a tiny chunk of Berks County.
The district of which I am a part of now? It spans five counties. It includes a small chunk of Lancaster, areas outside of Reading, an hour and fifteen minutes northeast of where I live, and then sprawls over to the east to where my family lives, over an hour and a half away. I encourage you to play around with this website, because it shows you how freaking ludicrous the whole thing is.
The way its drawn up now, my representative will be the face of a pocket of Amish farmland, areas of the Main Line, one of the richest areas on the east coast, suburbs in Montgomery County, and some areas outside of Philadelphia that are full of lower-income families.
How the HELL is anyone supposed to come up with ideas to represent that kind of area? How do you choose what legislation to support? WHY IS THIS OKAY.

Short post is short. I'm too angry.