What is going on?
It's the eternal question, really. Throughout the ages, people have always found themselves, in moments of confusion bordering on genuine panic, throwing their hands in the air and screaming:
"What the $^*! is going on around here?!?"
But it seems to me that this feeling has grown more...passionate(?) in recent times. It's almost as if we feel more entitled to information than ever before. Sure, it's expected in an age where information is literally at our fingertips, but does that necessarily mean it's valid? I don't really think so.
Most of the time, people get inquisitive about world events for two basic reasons: they are bored, or they think they have enough intelligence/wisdom/money to understand what's going on, pass judgment, and suggest improvements/start a revolution.
Anyway, the concept that some random guy with no particular experience or education to qualify them can feel justified doing this is...silly. We can sit here and criticize a sitting president, but none of us has any idea of what that's like. We don't know how hard it is to accomplish anything in that position, what pressures exist, and all the other things that aren't public knowledge but still play a role. By the same token, we don't know what it's really like to be in congress, to be a Supreme Court judge, to be a lobbyist, to be an astronaut, or whatever else we are complaining about. I submit that as much as 90% of the general population would do no better in these positions than the people who have actually held them, and would most likely do a lot worse.
That's true. It is. If you are a rational person, and you are honest about it, there's really no denying this.
And the same thing applies to just knowing what is going on. We get our news from whatever sources we decide to trust, we check multiple sources and do as much independent research as we can, but ultimately we all know (or should) that the decisions that shape this country are made behind closed doors as the result of conversations we will never know about, and whenever a politician or pundit describes what's going on, they are only giving the information they want us to have. How often is that a complete, honest picture of reality? Never.
So is the public option dead? Will Obama come in at the last possible moment to save it? Will it be passed by dedicated democrats who know what the people really want and need? We don't know, and we can't know. It was a surprise to everyone when the senate finance bill passed with a PO, and even after the fact no one seems to have the slightest idea of what it really means, and what will happen next. We're all just guessing here, and we have very little to go on.
What's the point? No point. Come on, this is a blog. I'm just typing to get my thoughts and frustrations out without criminal charges being filed against me. I love the internet!
"What the $^*! is going on around here?!?"
But it seems to me that this feeling has grown more...passionate(?) in recent times. It's almost as if we feel more entitled to information than ever before. Sure, it's expected in an age where information is literally at our fingertips, but does that necessarily mean it's valid? I don't really think so.
Most of the time, people get inquisitive about world events for two basic reasons: they are bored, or they think they have enough intelligence/wisdom/money to understand what's going on, pass judgment, and suggest improvements/start a revolution.
Anyway, the concept that some random guy with no particular experience or education to qualify them can feel justified doing this is...silly. We can sit here and criticize a sitting president, but none of us has any idea of what that's like. We don't know how hard it is to accomplish anything in that position, what pressures exist, and all the other things that aren't public knowledge but still play a role. By the same token, we don't know what it's really like to be in congress, to be a Supreme Court judge, to be a lobbyist, to be an astronaut, or whatever else we are complaining about. I submit that as much as 90% of the general population would do no better in these positions than the people who have actually held them, and would most likely do a lot worse.
That's true. It is. If you are a rational person, and you are honest about it, there's really no denying this.
And the same thing applies to just knowing what is going on. We get our news from whatever sources we decide to trust, we check multiple sources and do as much independent research as we can, but ultimately we all know (or should) that the decisions that shape this country are made behind closed doors as the result of conversations we will never know about, and whenever a politician or pundit describes what's going on, they are only giving the information they want us to have. How often is that a complete, honest picture of reality? Never.
So is the public option dead? Will Obama come in at the last possible moment to save it? Will it be passed by dedicated democrats who know what the people really want and need? We don't know, and we can't know. It was a surprise to everyone when the senate finance bill passed with a PO, and even after the fact no one seems to have the slightest idea of what it really means, and what will happen next. We're all just guessing here, and we have very little to go on.
What's the point? No point. Come on, this is a blog. I'm just typing to get my thoughts and frustrations out without criminal charges being filed against me. I love the internet!
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So you notice there's a whole lotta virtual, ruffled feather in cyberspace too, eh? Good to see someone else is awake besides me.
Obviously, the public is always the last one in on the joke, especially when it comes to politics and the decision making process they call legislation. Regardless of the public's desire, those who control the reins of power have an agenda to complete that may or may not be exactly what the public is expecting. We can pout, scream, yell, protest, write letters, send fax's, stage sit-ins, disrupt legislative procedures both in Congress and out in the field, but the bottom line is the decision process is always done behind closed doors by only a few with the unknowing support of the whole.
So our political landscape has changed from one where we use to expect gradual movement in a desired direction that would adapt to changes that occur during the developing process over a few years to one where we expect immediate transformation the minute the legislation is signed into law.
The political ideology of both Party's has changed from mutual respect for one and other to adversarial where the ruling Party tears down what the other had constructed and install their version. Think of it as a neighborhood where whenever someone moves out, the new neighbor coming in tears down the existing house and builds a completely different structure that may clash with the existing neighborhood ambiance.
The public option is like an art deco structure progressives are trying to build in an established, Tudor and Victorian residential neighborhood. It needs refinement to make it a single payer system, but the republicans will not allow it to pass. And if it does, there'll be enough caveats placed at strategic points, by bipartisanship maneuvering, to bring it tumbling down the minute they regain political power again.
So as long as each Party is at war with the other, each may claim victory in battle, but the end of the war will never be realized.
October 28, 2009 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, I agree. It really came into perspective for me when my physics prof told us that Carter had a solar powered water heater installed in the WH and Reagan had it torn down when he moved in. What possible benefit did Reagan derive from the act? None, really, other than to make a statement and encourage us to make politics destructive instead of constructive.
I love the architectural analogy, by the way.
October 30, 2009 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink