Be the Change

BE THE CHANGE

We, the people of the United States, need a serious reboot of how our government is run and of those who run it.  I realize that this is stating the obvious and has been the case for a good while, but I believe things are getting close to a tipping point.  Most rational people know it is vital to listen to differing viewpoints and work toward policies that yield the best combination of building this country’s economy while offering opportunities and protections for its citizens, citizens of all persuasions, in a way that looks to secure a good future by encompassing such things as improving the environment and securing global partnerships to ensure long-term health, wealth, and success.  Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be what we have right now.

The concept of having political parties is essential so that there can be productive debate, ideas can be hashed out, and compromises made as warranted.  As most of us have learned, history is ripe with examples of how countries fail when one party dominates.  It’s an unfortunate but common human trait that too many of us are power hungry and will sacrifice the common good in favor of retaining perceived positions of strength, and this is exaggerated when large groups are involved and ‘group think’ takes over.  Sadly, this is the direction in which we have been heading of late, except with two factions competing instead of one dominant one.  Worse yet, it’s devolved to the point where it’s not even masked by those in power and a large swath of society seemingly simply falls in line.  Politicians have used this to deepen the divide and stay in power.  Foreign governments have even taken notice and have attempted to use it against us.  In addition, money continues to play a bigger and more substantial role in elections with wealthy donors, super pacs, and now even churches able to play a factor in candidates’ campaigns.  So, what has happened is that politicians are even more swayed by special interest groups in the effort to remain elected.  We’re seeing more policy changes, or lack thereof, that are blatantly the result of this, often very thinly-veiled as being for the public good.  Also, because there are only two major political parties and division is so great, there winds up being a mentality that we must choose one side over the other and if your party wins your positions get to dominate rather than trying to work with the other side as our government was intended. 

As evidence of this, I recently saw part of a press conference in which Mitch McConnell literally said “the goal here is to win elections in November…My goal as the leader of the Republican Party in the Senate is to keep us in the majority. The way you do that is not complicated. You have to nominate people who can actually win, because winners make policy and losers go home.”  It opened my eyes that he boldly stated out loud that his job is to win elections, but even more so that no one even flinched.  It didn’t even result in a single comment.  But, it’s disgusting in its implications.  Your job as a politician is to represent the people and do what’s right for them and the country.  While you may believe your party has the better ideas, your job IS NOT to win elections.  I understand that many will argue that this is one and the same, but it isn’t and shouldn’t be.  That just puts you in position to be swayed and make bad deals.  Of course, this is not at all restricted to republicans, it just so happens that it was McConnell speaking in this instance.  Both sides are prone to over the top demonization of those on the other side of the aisle.  This goes hand-in-hand with another pet peeve; where people keep saying things like the president MUST pass a tax reform bill, or congress HAS to overhaul healthcare, etc.  NO, if a better solution comes around, then great.  But, passing legislation just to say you passed something is ridiculous.  Knowing it’s a subpar option or, as seems to have been the case recently, not even understanding the bill yourself, is even worse.  As a politician, what you SHOULD do is pass the best possible bill when it is ready and has undergone full scrutiny.  If that means taking more time than originally suggested, that makes you more reliable in my opinion than if you just force something through to claim an empty and meaningless ‘victory’.

If you’ve seen any news at all lately, you’ve heard about the sexual misconduct and assault allegations levied against many famous people in positions of power, including politicians.  I have found it very disturbing how many friends pointed to the Roy Moore allegations as some kind of example of republican mentality or the Al Franken actions as showing democrat hypocrisy.  They almost seem gleeful that the ‘other side’ must deal with severe wrongdoings.  Of course, when the President of the United States in among these people, we have an even bigger problem.  Wrong is wrong, and consequences should be levied equally based upon severity no matter position or political affiliation, or whether we voted for him/her or not.  We have devolved into reveling misfortunes instead of supporting successes.  There is real danger, moral and otherwise, in having your base chanting to lock up your opponent.  Again, this goes for both sides.  If charges are warranted, let investigators do their part and rise above the hyperbole of riling up public anger and leveraging that for your own personal gains and satisfactions.  I’m not saying that it’s not right to call out possible illegal activities, but doing so in a civil way that doesn’t create possible public disturbances is essential.  On a similar note, politicians seem to be more afraid of the other side looking good than admitting they may have good points that should be negotiated.

Along those lines, when there are obvious displays of favoritism or policies that have the potential to cause harm it is important to speak out.  It’s great that we have that opportunity in America and the formidable mass behind the dominant political parties helps get those messages out for us.  But, we’ve gone too far.  Instead of utilizing the power to stand up and get something accomplished in these instances, the sides now seem to choose to disagree on almost every single issue creating a situation where nothing gets done.  It’s become us versus them, I’m right and you’re wrong.  To make matters worse, way too many votes are solely along party lines, no matter the pros or cons, who gets hurt or rewarded.  People are afraid to go against their party, thus as is typical in group think, people vote for bills they otherwise never would.  Issues from one bill that won’t pass are forced into another that they think will pass.  Bills that affect millions of people are voted on before the public has any real idea what is included.  The list goes on and on. 

I think you get my drift and I know that countless people think along the same lines, and I don’t want this to get too long.  Thus, rather than list changes that can be made, as they’re probably obvious to most people anyway, let me just say this:  Let’s work to get people in power who are willing to work for US and with EACH OTHER, who realize that negotiations are about the greater good of the outcome, which is sometimes what is kept from happening and not always about ‘what’s in it for me,’ and who aren’t tied into anything that would cause conflicts of interest.  Let’s work to get people who understand our frustrations with a malfunctioning government and is willing to buck the trends and stand up for what’s right and not just for what any particular party says is right.  If our president and our politicians can’t do it, then let’s find new ones that can.  It’s up to us.  That’s the most incredibly wonderful thing about our great country.  But, enough of us must become involved and think a little bit outside the box in order for real changes to be made.