Fear, anger, frustration, disgust — or all of the above?
All of the above is winning in our latest KTVZ.COM Poll about folks’ prime emotions regarding the awful display of partisan bickering amid the debt crisis on Capitol Hill.
How do we break the seemingly endless, for-sure vicious downward spiral of juvenile finger-pointing, breast-beating and general lack of maturity in our politics?
As usual for a reporter, I don’t have the answers. But also like any good reporter, I want to at least help make sure we’re asking the right questions. That we’re not framing the issue the way the partisans on either side of the fight want us to. To at least open the mind to some different thoughts of our own, not those the folks who trout out selected red herrings want us to react – of pure emotion rather than logic.
Some of what’s below is no doubt from the Department of Redundancy Department. And I have little doubt that some will “see through” (heh) my fervent desires and brand me as a naive Pollyanna who loves the idea of a group hug and “Kumbaya,” who doesn’t understand how politics “really” works, etc. I know all the platitudes: “Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything,” “moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue,” etc.
Amazing how we’ve allowed “compromise,” “negotiation” and “moderation” to become dirty words in the eyes, minds and even hearts of too many. That it seems many would rather see the country devolve into civil war than “give an inch” on their “principles.”
Anyway, I pounded this out the other morning after another of those chain-letter e-mails with a pledge to “save our country” made the rounds. If you agree with much of it, great. If it makes your blood boil in “he just doesn’t get it!” fashion, oh well. But it’s from my heart AND my head, and … hope it strikes a chord or two:
A Pledge to Reject the ‘Blame Society’
1. I will not re-circulate every e-mail suggestion for ‘fixing’ Congress – or anything else – knowing that simple answers are for simpletons and emotionally based, feel-good wholesale changes usually are proposals that at least have unconsidered tradeoffs and downsides — not to mention being “dead on arrival” politically.
2. I will honor the Founding Fathers and their wisdom, but not believe they were ‘literalists’ whose every word, deed and writing was to remain unchanged forever more. They did not envision our world, and while their founding principles should always be embraced, to not advance or change to reflect today’s realities would be like hewing to every element of the Old Testament, literally.
3. I will reject extremism in ALL its forms, and will be wary of anyone who claims to have a corner on “the truth you won’t hear anywhere else,” because I know they are appealing to my heart and spleen and asking those to overrule my head, and they want me to believe “our side” has all the answers and good folks, and “their side” is wrong and dumb and evil, their every idea is to be rejected without consideration, etc.
4. I will encourage our elected and appointed leaders to truly consider ALL good ideas – even those from the other side of the aisle – and in tough times to resist engaging in the “he started it!” kindergarten whines that we all should have left behind in kindergarten.
5. I will point out cognitive dissonance whenever and wherever I see it, knowing that while all of us would like to have our cake, eat it too, not get fat and have someone else pay the bill, I left the world of fairytales behind at a young age and should not return to it in my adulthood.
6. I will stop letting anecdotal awfulness — the $1,000 hammer, the wayward cop brought up on charges – color my perception of my government, which like any large enterprise with a huge customer base will never please everyone, and who really does only one thing badly in widespread fashion — getting the message out of the simple, good things it does every day. It will remain in damaging paralysis when those seeking to bring it down or get their person/party in are allowed to paint government as evil personified. Government is a reflection of us and our strengths and weaknesses, and to assign it larger blame – or credit – than it deserves just makes it harder to get anything good done.
7. I will reject extreme “throw the bums out” term limits for what they are – a bid by those driven by anger, vengeance or political opportunism to turn from career politicians to perpetually amateur politicians who can be even more manipulated by career bureaucrats who really pull the gears of government, and lobbyists who are looking out for their companies’ and causes’ self-interests. As they should.
8. I will embrace true negotiation and compromise – not on principles, but on policies – and always call on our elected and appointed leaders to be specific about what they would do and have done, rather than waste our valuable time telling us all the bad things about their foes. Tell us why you are good, not why your foe is bad, because we have a brain and can judge and choose and remember all by ourselves, and the personal attacks and negativity say more about you than it does them. I will ask our leaders to be specific, be detailed and be honest about your proposals, and don’t appeal solely to our emotions or misguided wish for simple answers to complicated problems.
9. I will not blame every bad thing that happens in my life or the world on our president or Congress (or local elected officials for that matter) and will not give them credit for every good thing, either. Much – in fact, most – of your life is beyond their control, thankfully.
10. I will not take comfort or joy in my foes’ failures or tragedies, will reject the notion that civil war or Judgement Day are things to eagerly anticipate (because our side will be proven right and the others will “get theirs”), and will try to walk a mile in my opponents’ shoes whenever possible. Because the only way to advance as a community, nation and people is to move forward together and leave the bickering for the 5-year-olds in the back seat on a long vacation ride. And just like then, I will be the parent, and when the ‘stop touching me!’ and ‘he started it!’ whines come from the ‘children’ in our ride toward the future, we will be the parent, and say, ‘I don’t care who started it — I’m finishing it!’ And I will cling fervently to the belief, hope and prayer that such a mindset truly is our only hope of peace and progress.
Leave it to Barney 
Good thoughts expressed with wisdom. If only it were as simple as that.
LOL, yep, I know it’s not that simple – that’s part of the foundation of what I wrote. But while there are few simple answers that carry water, I do believe that changing the way we think about these intensely emotional topics just could rub off, over time. At least, I hope so. If not, well, at least maybe it got a few people thinking — and just maybe thinking a bit differently. If such a mindset were to succeed nationally at some level — well, I know I’d sign up.
I’m glad you didn’t waste any time posting this Barney. Thanks for organizing these thoughts so they make sense.
If only politicians respected the electorate as educated and intelligent…if only the media worked to insure the electorate was…and we, the electorate, was energetic enough to act…all would be well: there is my simple pollyanna solution for our nation’s ills.
Yep, Tad – if only… but it’s tricky. From the media’s perspective, at least broadcast media, it’s hard to make a lot of non-visual stories interesting, compelling and provide all the needed info in a limited time window. Then, as you noted, it’s up to the public to say what they want, in achievable fashion. And to give a damn, Instead, we’re all busy with our lives and problems and own work issues, and … no simple answers;-/ Thanks.
Kidos to you Barney. Once being an American meant understanding other’s points of view, and the way we advanced our agendas were through debate and compronmise, not through nasty name calling unyielding positions.