My dear wife and I got back from ten days at the river cabin recently. Up there we have no internet, no newspapers and the radio is always tuned to the Akwesasne Reservation radio station. That station plays a variety of country music and the only politics on their news is tribal. It seems they have as many problems with tribal politics as the rest of the country does at every level. It was a good time away, full of rest, relaxation and family activities.
But now we’re back in the real world. The latest news has been checked out in newspapers at the public library and on the internet. I’ve done a little radio listening dividing my time between NPR and conservative talk. As expected, not much has changed. There were no sudden epiphanies where politicians of all stripes came to the great realization that common sense and reason should guide their actions. Nope. The same old stalemate, the same old arguments, the same old incessant campaigning with its lies and slander is going on twenty four hours a day every day. And so it goes.
There was an interesting election down in Texas recently. A conservative fellow named Ted Cruz won a run-off contest for the US Senate. He’s a supporter of the Madisonian idea that the federal government is limited in its scope by the Constitution and the fact that federal powers are enumerated and thus limited, by the ninth and tenth amendments. These amendments also state that the enumeration of certain rights does not lessen the retention of other rights by the people. Mr. Cruz got a lot of support from the dreaded Tea Party folks. You know the ones – those radical protesters and crackpots who break the law and disrupt peaceful gatherings. Oh wait. That was the Occupy Wall Street crowd, wasn’t it? Well never mind. We all know that the Tea Party people are dangerous. After all they are out there putting forth their beliefs and ideas about upholding the constitution and individual rights, supporting candidates who espouse those same ideas and generally using the American electoral system exactly the way the founders intended.
In my opinion races like the one in Texas will be more important than the big presidential contest this fall. A local candidate is more likely to be asked questions that demand real answers and not just sweeping platitudes. Local candidates, especially those who have held offices for a long time, can be more easily held accountable for their actions while in office. Incumbency could, if enough folks are energized about elections, become more of a burden than an advantage.
So if you have a set of values that you’d like to see represented in our various levels of government then find a candidate who reflects those values and support that candidate. If you believe that government is an integral part of regulating the behavior of individuals, setting limits for the success of businesses and creating a system that arbitrarily enforces quotas and equalization of incomes then there are plenty of progressive candidates out there who can use your support. Or if you’re more like the folks that would like to see less government involvement in every facet of your life, you can find candidates who think like you. And if you fall somewhere in the middle of those two positions and are willing to risk stagnation then there are plenty of career politicians ready to carry your torch.
These little articles are merely my opinions. I happen to believe that a conversation can be conducted in a kind and civil way. Passion about one issue or another should be reined in enough so that folks are treated with respect. For instance the whole big controversy about what a fellow who owns a bunch of chicken sandwich stores can and can’t believe about a particular social issue seems laden with hate and vitriol. The guy believes that there are religious proscriptions against a particular practice. He said what he believes, out loud. If we happen to disagree with him there are plenty of other stores selling chicken sandwiches for us to patronize. We can even ask our friends to go to these other stores with us. But to vilify the man and to demand that any of his stores be closed is a gross outrage. It just doesn’t make good common sense. But it sure does get a lot of people a chance to go on TV and argue about the issue. This, I guess, is often the real point these days.
Okay. Well friends, as the election gets closer I hope you’re looking into things more closely than the “sound bites” allow. Study on these things. It really is important. Now have a fine day.
No comments:
Post a Comment