Skip to main content

They just don't get it . . . .


If you're anything like me (I know no one wants to readily admit to it but there are people like me) you've come away from recent elections shaking your head and thinking, "They just don't get it . . ."


No matter what happens in an election in recent years, it comes back to party politics. Like a fight - the fighters retreat to their corners where the same 'experts' and advisers whisper sweet motivations in their ears and the same fighters come out swinging in the same fight over-and-over-and-over . . . Like tired boxers they no longer know what they're fighting for but they keep fighting because the bejeweled experts in the corner are paying them to get into the ring. The fighters become tired and entangled and throw half-hearted punches until the bell tolls again and they retreat to their corners where the same . . . Imagine a Rocky movie here but instead of  the old gravely voiced manager, there is Bernie Madoff or worse. Meanwhile, we in the audience are reading our magazines or napping because the fight doesn't really matter, we don't have any input because no one is listening to us and we feel powerless to change the way the fight is fought. We know we should care but after awhile well, we don't.


I could get carried away with that fight analogy and maybe I already did. My point being, we no longer have influence on the results of the elections. We vote but once someone is elected, our influence may very well end. It's become a pay-to-play system and I don't have enough cash. 


We're lulled into thinking we have influence in the party-political game - but most Americans are not just one party or another. As a matter of fact, I think most Americans could care less about the labels given by party politics. I heard an interview with Robert Frank on his book, "The Darwin Economy; Liberty, Competition and the Common Good" - and I thought - that's exactly what I think is wrong with politics today!!!!!! (I've included a link below to the show and book). 


Going back to the fight analogy, we as an audience need to get out of our seats and demand equal time whispering in our fighters' ears. We need to remove the 'experts' - in this case lobbyists from ringside seats and demand they move to the back of the line or get out of line altogether. Because until that happens, our politicians just won't get it because they're not listening.














Robert Frank: "The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good" | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR:

'via Blog this'

Comments

Post a Comment

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

I put my pride aside and got my ass off the grass and into the wheelchair. {I spent a couple minutes deciding whether to put an exclamation mark after that declaration or to put the period after that statement. I think the period better suits my mood about getting said ass into the wheelchair!} On July 4, Saugatuck has a wonderfully unique parade that includes quirky participants like the artsy-fartsy campers at OxBow art colony and the LGBT members of a local foundation along with the more traditional participants like Girl Scouts, fire trucks, and local politicians. It had been a couple years since I had been to the parade, this year, though, my Mom and sister were in town and I wanted to take them. So we loaded up in the van, including Kerri's wheelchair and my own. Once we parked, John asked if I wanted to use my chair and I initially balked but then remembered that it can be a long, hot parade and it might be better to have a place to sit. So, I acquiesced and took the cha...
2 comments
Read more

Christmas cards

I sat down to reluctantly address Christmas cards. While our list has slowly dwindled through the years it's still a sizeable number, especially when it's viewed as a task approached reluctantly . Know what I mean? Some Christmas 'tasks' are a lot less taskier - like decorating or shopping or eating or opening presents. I mean, there's a whole different level of enthusiasm associated with 'tasks' that aren't viewed as tasks - I can't ever remember a time when I sat down to reluctantly open a present or eat a Christmas cookie! Anyway, I approached the Christmas card addressing with a less-than-positive, more bah-humbugish attitude. I poured a cup of coffee, grabbed the markers (I had to have a green, a red and a black one), the list and of course the envelopes (which John had already stuffed with the card). I turned on some Christmas music, but not too loud or it would distract me (and it really doesn't take much to distract me. Squirrel!),...
Post a Comment
Read more

The summer that wasn't

It's July 30. Summer, right? Wrong!!! In Michigan, we had our summer two weeks ago for about 10 days. Saw a recent post on Facebook that read:"You know you're in Michigan when you wear your bathing suit on Monday and your parka on Tuesday." We sweltered for a week or two and then were chilled again. That's where we are now. Chilling at 70. Weather aside, it no longer feels much like summer. The back-to-school ads, commercials, displays and talk have begun full-force. And I feel like I just got used to having the three-not-so-little Piggins home again and now I have to get them ready for school. Delaney has a little longer, but Michael leaves for Wayne State law in two weeks and Matthew for his sophomore year at DePauw in three.  I get the nest re-feathered and damn these 'baby' birds but they stay for too short a time then fly away. *sigh* Since this is the "glass half full" blog of a pseudo-Pollyanna, I will revert to thinking positively ...
Post a Comment
Read more