Everybody’s felt it, the urge to slap politicians for letting their egos and their pride get in the way of the good of the country. Not to mention their craving for attention. Because of these disturbing traits our “leaders” share I have a few questions: Doesn’t this need detract from their focus on their job? Also, does their attention obsession affect the way the public feels about them? Is it upsetting enough to actually drive people away from paying attention to the government at all? Do things like President Obama’s complete 180’ on the Keystone pipeline cause voters/people to change their opinion of the political game for the negative? Sure, politicians need to work hard to keep their face and their skills in the “the public eye”. They need to be remembered – even by people who rarely read the paper or watch the news. Are things getting out of hand though? How far is too far?
I think I must point out, however, that there is one thing more disturbing than our politicians pulling ridiculous stunts to get on the front page; their attitudes and how they “discuss” the issues. When one sits down to try to convince another that their solution to an issue is, in fact, good – the most likely path is not to yell or bicker like 5 year olds. As political leaders are charged with not only representing the people but making decisions from the standpoint of the people, I have to say… I am (and have been) growing continually disappointed. I, frankly, do not feel like I am being represented. Nor do I feel as though anyone but the eccentrically wealthy are being represented. If you search Google for an answer to this question, you will get a resounding No (and a few history lesson pages). The general public (or at least the verbal public) seems to all agree: we aren’t truly being represented. So if we don’t feel like it’s the decisions we would make, what decisions are being made exactly? Well, I searched for some state congressional decisions as of late and found that through all the legislation I found an article that stood out. In Wisconsin they decided to “Honor a microbe” (in 2010). In this article from the New York Times I learned that other states, such as Texas - we have a state vehicle: the Chuck wagon- and Pennsylvania – their state toy: the slinky, have made similar “decisions”. Now I worry about how these silly things have been decided. Was it a short conversation about a favorite childhood toy gone too far? Or was there deliberation and argument? Did someone like their Legos more than the slinky? How much time (aka money) was wasted on these topics while jobs were being lost and economy was declining? This causes me actual fear. Although, I’m sure that for every “State Question” being decided there are hundreds of other necessary issues being discussed and problems being solved. Right?
Lets look on the Brightside. At least our politicians have quirky humor.
So I guess I’ll conclude my self-indulgent rant on the note that it is my belief that if Congress and the President, and past Presidents, and every figurehead selected by those who bother to vote would focus more on how our money gets spent and solving the bigger problems than on how popular they are and whether or not the person sitting next to them is a friend or foe… maybe we could fix this crumbling country one session at a time! Maybe we could even avoid some problems in advance. I’m not saying bickering and disagreement aren’t healthy and necessary… but lately I feel as though there’s just been too much. Enough is enough.
