by:
Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny |
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door! |
It's here America!
The anticipated government shutdown.
With 31+ hours to shutdown the melodrama continues.
And, America braces itself to deal with the result of the childish temper tantrums and Green Egg and Ham infantile pastime of one Senator Cruz from the Lone Star state.
The networks, infatuated with the melodrama continue to repeat, ad nausea the same talking points from the Sheeples of BOTH infantile parties and their childish leadership.
As expected the American people, not to mention the entire world financial markets, are held hostage as a result of infants crapping their pants in delight over childish BS.
America grew up.
Its politician and ELECTED representatives and LEADERS fail to understand what exactly maturity means.
Such is the condition that exists when idiots enamored with the thought of wielding power over the people is recognized in the minds of those without reasoning ability.
America... You have gotten EXACTLY that which you have chosen, either through design or ignorance. In either case the result is the same and no one has the right to complain or bitch about the reality they have chosen for their country and themselves.
Worth Considering - Americans like the idea of representative democracy, but they have little liking for the practices, institutions and politicians that make representative democracy work. Nor are they tolerant of the processes, which require debate (viewed as bickering), compromise (viewed as selling out), advocacy (viewed as posturing) and stalemate (viewed as obstructionism). They do not trust government to do the right thing, they are cynical about elected public officials who are supposed to represent their interests, and they feel that the legislative system as it operates is wide open to special interests but not to the public. The political system gets low marks from most Americans.
There are many reasons for these negative public perceptions. The virtues of representative democracy are not self-evident. The processes in Congress, state legislatures and city councils are messy and difficult to fathom, even to insiders. In their efforts to draw readers, the media focus on conflict and overemphasize negative events. All too often, politicians run against the political system and the people in it. At the same time, significant societal changes have taken place, and culture wars have broken out in American society. Although expectations of what government can do have risen, notions about why and how government should perform have become more heterogeneous and conflicting.
The accumulation of negatives fuels public discontent and disenchantment. No particular incident, specific charge, single newspaper story or television portrayal makes a huge difference, but years of battering have eroded support for the political system. This climate of cynicism is deadly to representative democracy. It hinders the recruitment to elective public office of talented and concerned people, many of whom no longer will risk having their characters assailed and their reputations damaged. It weakens the bonds between citizens and their representatives. It makes consensus more difficult to achieve, because trust is in such short supply. It hinders steady and pragmatic solutions, while encouraging posturing, scapegoating and quick fixes. It erodes the representative assemblies that have served us remarkably well for more than 300 years. It puts our system of representative democracy in peril, even though we have nothing else we would rather have in its place, and nothing that would serve nearly as well.
This publication offers engaged Americans an alternative view of representative democracy by providing a more accurate and positive perspective. It is based on six operating principles of representative democracy as it is practiced throughout the nation. The first two principles focus on representatives as individuals, and the latter four emphasize representation as a system. The treatment of each operating principle includes both a discussion of what the public perceives and a discussion of how politicians and institutions work.
The authors of this guide believe that the system and its participants work well-by no means perfectly, but well-and better than any realistic alternative. Of course, there are problems with legislatures and with legislators that need attention. Of special concern are the conduct of political campaigns, the business of campaign finance and conflicts of interest, partisanship and incivility in the legislature. These concerns should not be taken lightly. Yet, they should not detract from an appreciation of a system that, while currently the envy of the world, is misperceived and unappreciated here at home.
Perhaps, just maybe, if we are lucky, our elected officials will see themselves and recognize they are failing. If not... VOTE THE BASTARDS AND BITCHES OUT OF OFFICES.
