There are things other than politics going on in the world, though you wouldn’t know it here in Denver, where it is all politics all the time.

What always gets me about politicians is that you rarely hear them speak of what they can’t do for you and only you can do for yourself. That’s because they want you to need them. If they are not needed then you might be less likely to vote and if you don’t vote, they might not get power. And if they don’t have power they might have to work at real jobs.

Listening to the Democrats – and possibly less so the Republicans next week – you would think you and I are incapable of doing anything without politicians. Our lives are miserable because the wrong party is in the White House. We can’t educate or take care of our children without government. We have no good jobs, or maybe no jobs at all. Our future is bleak without government.

How sad this is. America was built by individuals, not politicians. Keep that in mind as you listen to the fantastic promises of politicians to make your life better. They can’t. Only you can.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.