Is ANYONE paying attention?
Guy T. Sturino
September 12, 2010
What words make sense today when trying to describe the participants in our political system? Who stands for what? What are the strongest principals that define a group? Which issues can be compromised and which can´t? Is it really just two parties, or have we reached a more nuanced collection of participants?
It seems to me that what has been the Democratic Party´s claim of being the most diverse group under one tent is no longer valid. What with the Neo-Conservatives, Tea-Partiers, Birthers, Southern Baptist/Evangelicals, and just plain conservatives, the Republican Party looks as diverse as the Democratic Party ever did. Then, throw in the single issue interest groups that infest both parties with stubborn, chiseled in stone positions which defy common ground and both tents look more like a circus than an attempt to govern.
The idea that a person is simply Republican, Democrat or Independent is like saying colors are only black, white and grey. In truth we each stand somewhere on the edge of the single center ring of the political circus, taking our positions anew as each issue is hashed and rehashed by the media. There are some polar opposites that are easily defined and others defy clarity. What does it mean to be a fiscal conservative? What does it mean to be a progressive? Who says that a person can´t be in favor of a strong social safety net and still believe in pay as you go budgeting or vice versa? What makes a blue dog Democrat or a RINO Republican? Just where is the "middle of the road" anyway?
The one thing we´re not getting from our constitutionally enshrined Fourth Estate is an educated electorate. That´s not to say that some don´t try, but profit has impeded progress every time. The result is headline news that not only tells us what´s happening but how we´re supposed to think about it. We don´t get educated we get indoctrinated. However, it´s not just the media´s fault. Ask any politician a question about that they think or how they intend to vote on an issue and then step back quickly. Chances are 1000 to 1, or maybe even higher, that you´re going to get showered with B.S.
Who then are the participants in this Ringling Bros. re-run that we´ve been calling government? Every two years we scramble the performers, picking new Ring Masters, high wire artists, animal trainers, and a wide assortment of clowns to try to decide where we should be going and what we should be doing. If that sounds disrespectful of our politicians – it is and I am. In my seventy years experience the level of thoughtful governance by those we used to call wise elder statesmen is at an all time low.
Finally, as if it couldn´t get any worse, we are burdened with a Republican Party and a Supreme Court intent on creating an American moneyed aristocracy without formal titles. If you´re not sure about that, I suggest you look closely at what the combination of zero estate taxes and the Court´s position that corporations are people. This combination of events will, in time, create a wealth based society in which those on top simply appoint the country´s leadership and all this talk of political parties will become a smokey haze of nostalgia.
Please don´t take my word for any of this. Go out and look. Watch closely and see for yourself.
Is that single issue really more important than the future of our country?
It seems to me that what has been the Democratic Party´s claim of being the most diverse group under one tent is no longer valid. What with the Neo-Conservatives, Tea-Partiers, Birthers, Southern Baptist/Evangelicals, and just plain conservatives, the Republican Party looks as diverse as the Democratic Party ever did. Then, throw in the single issue interest groups that infest both parties with stubborn, chiseled in stone positions which defy common ground and both tents look more like a circus than an attempt to govern.
The idea that a person is simply Republican, Democrat or Independent is like saying colors are only black, white and grey. In truth we each stand somewhere on the edge of the single center ring of the political circus, taking our positions anew as each issue is hashed and rehashed by the media. There are some polar opposites that are easily defined and others defy clarity. What does it mean to be a fiscal conservative? What does it mean to be a progressive? Who says that a person can´t be in favor of a strong social safety net and still believe in pay as you go budgeting or vice versa? What makes a blue dog Democrat or a RINO Republican? Just where is the "middle of the road" anyway?
The one thing we´re not getting from our constitutionally enshrined Fourth Estate is an educated electorate. That´s not to say that some don´t try, but profit has impeded progress every time. The result is headline news that not only tells us what´s happening but how we´re supposed to think about it. We don´t get educated we get indoctrinated. However, it´s not just the media´s fault. Ask any politician a question about that they think or how they intend to vote on an issue and then step back quickly. Chances are 1000 to 1, or maybe even higher, that you´re going to get showered with B.S.
Who then are the participants in this Ringling Bros. re-run that we´ve been calling government? Every two years we scramble the performers, picking new Ring Masters, high wire artists, animal trainers, and a wide assortment of clowns to try to decide where we should be going and what we should be doing. If that sounds disrespectful of our politicians – it is and I am. In my seventy years experience the level of thoughtful governance by those we used to call wise elder statesmen is at an all time low.
Finally, as if it couldn´t get any worse, we are burdened with a Republican Party and a Supreme Court intent on creating an American moneyed aristocracy without formal titles. If you´re not sure about that, I suggest you look closely at what the combination of zero estate taxes and the Court´s position that corporations are people. This combination of events will, in time, create a wealth based society in which those on top simply appoint the country´s leadership and all this talk of political parties will become a smokey haze of nostalgia.
Please don´t take my word for any of this. Go out and look. Watch closely and see for yourself.
Is that single issue really more important than the future of our country?
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