“Never Discuss Religion or Politics”: That’s How We Got Into this Mess
I know people have warned since caveman days of the dangers of discussing religion and politics in polite society. And many of us have heeded that warning, speaking only to like-minded people about the views we share.
But maybe our caution in discussing our views with those closest to us (including those with differing opinions) is precisely what has gotten us into the mess we’re in today. Maybe if we were less afraid and more open to friendly and respectful debate with those we care about, we’d be less isolated in our fortesses of red and blue and would instead mingle together, a vast array of shades of purple. We’d find out we’re a lot closer together in our views than we ever dreamed.
The founding fathers knew that stewing in a soup of your own ideas was a dangerous and lousy way to make progress as a nation. So they created a system of government that virtually guarantees (when the Constitutional checks and balances are allowed to work) that all sides of an issue must be considered and represented in any decision made by the government.
But alas, that system is broken. And that’s why I have become political in my “old age.” So at the risk offending some of those I dearly love and respect, I am taking this time to express the views that drive my political decisions. I am not trying to change anyone’s opinions, I am merely sticking my neck out in hopes of breaking that “us vs. them” mentality…in hopes of helping to show others that my concerns are a lot like theirs and that I respect them even when their views differ from mine.
I would like to see a government in place that works harder to find compromises acceptable to those of us on both sides of an issue, than it does trying to please the big lobbyists. I think most everyone I know and care about would second that motion.
I wonder what else I, and others, might learn from an open discussion about politics.
In one such rare discussion I had recently, I learned that our country is NOT a democracy…it is a republic. (No, apparently I am not smarter than a 5th grader.) What that means is that we are not governed by the people, we are governed by elected representatives of the people. That’s why the popular vote doesn’t count in presidential elections. We cannot vote directly for proposed bills or laws, we can only vote for Congressmen and -women whom we HOPE will vote the way we want them to. It may be more efficient than asking millions of individual citizens to become informed about and vote for every piece of legislation proposed, but it takes away some of our power. That makes it even more important to know who we are electing to represent us.
Anyway, here are my views… (fair warning, this promises to be long).
THE PROBLEMS: #1 LOBBYING
Rather than talk about the symptoms, I want to back up and consider the causes of the mess in Washington (and at the state level as well). And they can be summed up in one word: LOBBYING.
I am so fed up with Big Money running our goverment and controlling almost every aspect of our lives that I could scream!
Who on earth (besides the Fat Cats themselves) thinks good goverment comes from allowing those with the most money to have the most influence? That is horribly wrong, but in a world where money equals influence, everybody has to play by those rules or they have no voice, no leverage…they can’t even get in the game.
Let me say first that I have no axe to grind in general with people who have money, whether inherited or earned through business. Many share their wealth with those less fortunate and should be commended for their generosity. But even those who spend selfishly, extravagantly do not offend me. It’s their money. They only offend me when their indulgences take away from or harm others in the process. Energy vampires, for example, who use their wealth to justify wastefulness in their vehicles and homes–they offend me.
But the bottom line is that wealth and prosperity are part of The American Dream, and every citizen is free to pursue that dream.
What makes me furious is the use of wealth to buy Congress. To buy the FDA. To buy the White House.
The pharmaceutical industry has our government and us in a stranglehold, ruining our health and draining our wallets. There are 2 Big Pharma lobbyists for every member of Congress. This means that there are twice as many Big Pharma lobbyists than members of Congress, and their full-time jobs are to write legislation (yes, they WRITE many of the bills introduced to Congress) for those members of Congress and to influence those members of Congress to vote for or against legislation according to the drug companies’ preferences. This is just one industry.
I’ll stop there for now, since this draft has languished in my drafts folder since 2008. I am working on a whole website about the issues of politics and unity in this country. But for now, the thoughts in this post are enough to generate some discussion.
