The Death of Political Substance

Some lessons people just never seem to learn.  Take this statement written by the Apostle Paul nearly 2,000 years ago: "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." (1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV)  Can you think of any examples of adults behaving like children?  Well, if you've watched or read nearly anything related to the upcoming election, then you know exactly what I'm talking about!

There were two main reasons our Founding Fathers wanted so much power to rest in the hands of individual voters: 1) because it was the best way to ensure against a dictator or tyrant from rising to power, and 2) because a well-informed electorate would ensure that those representing us would do a good job.  Well, shame on US for failing in our end of that; but the shame is also shared by those politicians who see elected office as a means to their own power, and by a media that has become increasing docile and have failed in their duty to keep the voting public fully informed.

So, in a few days, We the People have our say.  But what will we do with that choice?  I've heard some say they are so sick of politics that they won't even bother to vote - to which I shake my head at their outright stupidity.  If you don't like something, walking away and ignoring it will do nothing to change it! But the fact is, for far too many American voters, we don't even know who the candidates really are or what they stand for.  We get a constant barrage of polling results and we see more news stories about these polls than do about the candidates and issues the polls are supposed to be about!

And in the absence of fact, we fall prey to the fiction that those vying for power are willing to tell if it helps their cause.  Perhaps one of the biggest of these is the ongoing attempt to caste the nation's economic woes as a result of the George W. Bush administration.  While you'll get little argument from me that he was a weak president who spent more than he should've, failed to make tough decisions when he needed to, and yet jumped too quickly to others - the fact remains that the economic collapse began during his presidency because it had been built on a shaky foundation leading up to that.  It's almost laughable that Bill Clinton is now lauded for having such a strong economy when he left office - because that praise ignores that fact that much of that "strength" turned out to be built on flaky accounting practices and phantom bookkeeping.  If THAT is the kind of economy that Barack Obama wants to restore then that should be troubling to everyone!

Then there's the notion that President Obama himself is now pitching - that the likely change to the political landscape that will happen this week is due to 'turbulant times'; ignoring that voter outrage and frustration is a direct response to his own agenda.  To the contrary, Obama has repeatedly indicated that, even if Democrats lose control of both houses of Congress, he intends to continue to push the same extreme and aggressive agenda that has now set his party up for major losses in the mid-term election.  If voters truly embraced what he was doing and genuinely supported a mandate for his brand of change, then his party and those who have loyally supported him would be celebrating the gains THEY would be making this year instead of trying to defend seats that traditionally have never needed defending. 

But the biggest lie being perpetuated in these days leading up to the election is the notion that the economy is now solid and is now recovered - it's just going to take time for it to regain it's former strength.  How any politician from the president on down could make this kind of statement with a straight face is beyond me.  Seriously - by what criteria could any rational person say the economy is in recovery mode?  The only possible way to do is to try to encapsulate data that supports this pre-conceived ideal, while ignoring the other data that would challenge it. 

Yet this type of 'fingers in the ears' approach to governing is becoming far too much the status quo for the Obama Administration.  When the public pushes back against his ideas, he sends his foot soldiers out to brand such outcry as extremist and unrepresentative of America.  And even as he braces for the very likely loss of some who have been his most staunch supporters in Congress (Sen. Harry Reid), the president continues to talk defiantly about HIS agenda and the direction HE feels the country needs to continue to go.  In other words, he is taking the exact approach to governing that our Founders wanted us to thwart by entrusting the power of the vote to each of us.

So, don't let this election day slip past you - make sure you let your voice be heard.  Don't be a child and merely let things happen you don't like because you presume you can't make a difference - be an adult, recognize YOU are the source of the government's power, and YOU have the authority to call the shots.  If you want to have more of a voice in the 'change' that comes than we seem to have had for the last two years, this is your moment to shine!