Sunday, August 15, 2010

Civil Discourse

Civil Discourse

You hear it more and more. The plaintive question: why can’t we get back to the days of bipartisan civil discourse? We all have come to think we like the image of our legislators behaving as a crowd after church on Sunday morning, everyone shaking hands and asking after the family. “How’s your mother doing Bob?” “How’s young Deborah doing at my alma mater?” “The scholarship and short cut through admissions? Don’t mention it. What are friends for?” Everyone is happy happy happy.

But there’s another image and that’s of a country retreat meeting of organized crime Capos getting together to civilly divide up the loot from the fleecing of America. Let’s be civil about this. There’s plenty to go around. No need to get excited. No need for anyone to be publicly bloodied.

I’ve taken the position that the latter scenario is closer to reality and decided that the more rancorous the debate the less likely it is that my pocket will be picked. This has been drawn as a Democrat vs. Republican issue, but it isn’t. This is a “have” and “want to take it” issue. The people have it (the money and the power) and the federal government wants it. With willing corrupted elected legislators on the side of the government, we the calm and gullible people are at a disadvantage. They rely on deceit, habit, and dogma to accomplish their goals. One party will play off the other against the people and in the end they get what they want.

This year alone has seen over 5000 pages of legislation voted on and passed into law before legislators had the chance to know what it was. It was voted on based on party loyalty and the “get along – go along” system where legislators know that if they are to “get” any juicy money projects for their constituents to pave the way for their re-election they have to “go along” with whatever they are told. What a humiliating existence that must be. Waiting on the agenda is the house energy bill which would, by the Presidents own words, “cause electric utility rates to sky rocket”. And in case legislation can’t be passed the plan is to simply use the regulatory function of the executive and just make rules. Never mind the people’s representatives, or the people’s wants. The government will do what IT decides is right with the thought that people aren’t paying close enough attention and will just go along. I hope they’re wrong.

I want MY representatives to look out for MY interests. I want him or her to argue tooth and nail against any unnecessary projects in whatever state or community where they’re proposed, and I expect for the representatives of my fellow citizens to do the same against MY requests from the government. In this way only the MOST WORTHY of fiscal expenditures will be made.

But that's just what an average guy thinks.