Why Political Change must be deliberate and
painfully slow
Or, Cynicism and the Unavoidable Political
Process by J Smithson.
Generally, it is good rhetorical strategy to begin an
article with some sort of problem or issue that will get the reader involved
and asking questions, or, better
yet, looking for answers. So we begin with this graph, one taken from the Washington Post/Bloomberg
concern. The question was, “Thinking beyond the 2012 presidential
election, do you think your own family’s
financial situation would be better under an Obama second term or a Republican
victory?”
The answer is the
problem. It turns out that the nation is
equally divided as to partisan concerns regarding its hopes for the future. Partisan hope is sharply divided, with only 24% of folks seeing a positive
solution coming in November of 2012 (the
“other” 24% will be the losers and unsatisfied). 52% of those surveyed are not excited about
what the elections might bring; 8% of
those polled refusing to even offer an opinion at all.
Understand this: when people no longer care, they will settle
for anything that gives them personal relief or peace of mind. A more involved analysis of the Bloomberg
Chart gives us even more concern; after
the election, only 24% of the population
will be at peace with the political environment. 76% will be looking for change almost
immediately !!
A CNN/ORC, September,
2011, survey report s a Congressional approval rating of 13 percent, about
the same, now, as with the Pelosi
lead 111th Congress in 2010.
As it turns out, things did not just get bad, they have been
“bad” for years.
In a December 12th
survey by Gallup, Congress, as a body,
scored lower than all other listed categories, including telemarketers, the press,
and lawyers. Nurses scored the
best, ahead of “doctors,”
a bit troubling but beside the point.
And, finally, In a recent Christian Science/TPP
poll, (November 2, 2011), 56% of
Independents say that Obama does not
“deserve” a second term.
The point of this article? It is not to predict a
Democrat victory or an Obama failure at the ballot box. Rather,
our concern is the deeply involved cynicism that has become the dominate
political force of our times.
Seriously, when was the last time you read of a survey
question asking, “Does so and so deserve to win?”
I am thinking that the question, as asked, is more cynical than probative. To ask, “Has Obama done his job effectively,”
measures his function as a chief officer and is definitive in that regard. To ask if he “deserves” to go on, well,
that is not definitive. You could
plug in any other political name and ask the “deserving” question and get a
similar response. One is “probative,”
the other is markedly “cynical” and only reveals the [cynical] attitude
of the voter. Would that voter pull the
lever for Obama, anyway? We don’t know,
do we?
As a people, we need to guard against a degree of cynicism
that opens the door to unfettered change and rash departures. Our system of governance is so entwined
within itself that rapid change is much more disruptive than helpful.
Why?
Simply put, because we have been at this thing called
“American Politics” for more than two
and half centuries. In fact, when you stop to think about it, we are nation building. This country is our home. Every
decision and each election has built upon the past. After 240 years, we now have an edifice that has been built
upon a multiplicity of political and pragmatic realities. Our House Upon The
Hill, has, as its foundation, thousands
of agreed upon decisions not to mention the wars fought and the blood shed to
secure that edifice against all forces dedicated to its downfall. Rapid
and poorly envisioned change to that edifice would be as harmful to the larger
and historic narrative as if a builder decided to keep the roof
structure of a beautiful home and
destroy all the frame work below. Because
of the described complexities of our nation’s historical development, radicalism,
whether from the Left or the Right,
is counterproductive.
As mentioned above, when people no longer care, they will settle
for anything that gives them personal relief or peace of mind. That,
sadly, is a prescription for ruin.
Whether liberal or
conservative, our nation will survive
the continuing saga that we know as “political change” if the process is deliberate and painfully slow. How do we know? Because that has been our
history, has it not? And,
we are far different, as a nation, today, than we were 240 years ago.
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