Open Season: Part II

This second part of my election year opus started out as a look into the economy and the various promised approaches that each candidate has towards solutions for improving the current dangerous situation. But then I began thinking that no one office holder has enough influence to make significant changes. And then it occurred to me that the whole political process is out of whack and the economy, as big a problem as it is, is not the biggest problem we have.

So I scratched the economy article for now and I’ve decided to explore the bigger issue. And this, unfortunately, is not a joke. I’m just one moderately well informed individual in one small town in a very large country. As I listen and look around I sense that the nation is in deep trouble in a basic and essential way. It may be a collective mental illness. It may be a moral failing of massive proportions. It may be an apathetic attitude that is crippling the political process. Or it may be all of the above.

Just look at the craziness that we read about or see in the news every day. I used to think that the craziness was at normal levels (weird thing to say, I know) and that modern media was just disseminating the information more widely. But now I’m not so sure. It may be partially true that we’re more aware of the insanity but I think reporting on the incidences actually inspires more of the behavior. In fact I’m beginning to believe that there is a certain level of insanity in paying so much attention to the weirdness being reported.

When considering moral failing it would be difficult to deny the preponderance of evidence that hits us from every direction. We see case after case of people killing children. We read of child abuse of every heinous type. Normally responsible business people are committing thefts that are insidious in their scope and magnitude. Fraud is occurring at all levels of government and business. Millions of people are controlled by drugs and crimes related to addiction fill police reports. Even blatant disregard of traffic laws seems to point to societal breakdown.

Apathy is not only one part of our dilemma but it forestalls any movement to repair the breakdown. Voting statistics reflect this apathy. In the 2008 election 56.8% of the eligible voting population cast a ballot. And that was the best turnout in almost fifty years. Another measure of determining how interested folks are in important issues are periodic polls that compare answers to questions about various events in the news. I heard one recent poll result that showed that far more people were aware of Tom and Kate’s divorce than the Supreme Court decision on the Obama health care plan. A quick glance at any newspaper, online news source or television news program will show that much more time is spent on celebrity gossip than on real news.

All of this makes me very uneasy. As the election season rolls along I’ve seen more mudslinging by an incumbent candidate than I can ever recall. Even old Richard Nixon didn’t spend as much money on early attack ads as Mr. Obama and his team. Most real concerns are swept aside for pettiness and character assassination. The challenger’s side is at least focusing more on issues tied to the record of our incumbent president. But that will probably change, I’m sure.

Another facet of this election is more disturbing than in years past. It seems that facts can be disregarded as if they don’t exist or as if they mean the opposite of common sense interpretation. Are the unemployment numbers good or bad? Is the deficit increasing or decreasing? Will Obamacare cost the average taxpayer more or less than their private health plan? Will the cost of running the government, thus raising taxes, go up? Have jobs been created or are government payrolls being padded to approximate real job growth? Is the current administration trying to enact policy while abrogating the roles of other branches of the government? When we try to search out the answers to questions like this we hit a wall of confusing and conflicting statistics and opinions. It takes more than patience to find the answers. It often takes some common sense guesses to separate the fact from the fiction.

Now I’m almost done here so hang in there with me. This year we can see a clear division in the philosophy of governance between the two major parties. One side is clearly determined to bring governmental action into every facet of our public and private lives. From health issues, to parental issues, to economic issues and on and on, the progressive Democrats feel they have the obligation and the right to make policy that gets into our lives and that they believe is good and righteous. The Republican side sees the role of government in a different way. They feel that less government is better, individual responsibility should be encouraged, free markets will bring more prosperity to more people and everyone should have equal opportunity under the law.

If we have a free and open election and the people decide that the current path is one we should stay on then that’s okay. The people will have spoken and resourceful Americans will figure out how to deal with the situation. If they disagree with the outcome then they will start working towards change in the next election cycle. But if the election is choked by apathy, manipulated by media presenting only gossip and slander or distracted by ramped up reporting of irrelevant madness then we will continue on a path to national decay and dissolution.

Now try and have a fine day.