Spring Break
Politics, another sporting event
David Merritt
Issue date: 3/23/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
I find it very difficult to follow politics these days because it has unfortunately degenerated into the dealing of very small and unimportant issues. Observe how politicians present themselves to voters and this becomes clear. Here's the average candidate's platform that reads like a grocery list:
Abortion - No
Capital punishment - Yes
Gay marriage - No
Legalization of marijuana - Yes
I realize a political candidate must make clear his stance on ideas that affect voters, but let's not pretend that these are the sort of things that affect America. Politics is a game played like ping-pong, with the people's interests as the ball. Politicians use the ball to score points against each other, but the people never see any changes in their lives because their interests are pushed one way only to be pushed back where they started.
When was the last time an elected official proposed something that truly altered the way our government works and Americans live?
The answer to that question is that no one running this thing called a country ever talks about how it should be run. Everyone assumes things are just fine and is comforted to find political preferences pre-packaged and easily discernable.
You might be "liberal," "conservative," "Republican" or "Democratic." I think these labels have been created so that shopping for a political stance is a matter of checking off your list of issues. Someone has worked to take the philosophy out of politics and replaced it with childlike simplicity. How can something as broad as politics that demands the study of so many different disciplines like economics, sociology and history be understood by such few and simplified perspectives? The way a nation is managed requires immense understanding and an educated mind to avoid label philosophies.
This is all goes back to the politician who takes pleasure in knowing how easy it is to appeal to people who are spoon fed what they should think and fear. If everyone ran around thinking for themselves and tried to solve problems, we might do just that! We might solve problems, but would we need politicians for?
Abortion - No
Capital punishment - Yes
Gay marriage - No
Legalization of marijuana - Yes
I realize a political candidate must make clear his stance on ideas that affect voters, but let's not pretend that these are the sort of things that affect America. Politics is a game played like ping-pong, with the people's interests as the ball. Politicians use the ball to score points against each other, but the people never see any changes in their lives because their interests are pushed one way only to be pushed back where they started.
When was the last time an elected official proposed something that truly altered the way our government works and Americans live?
The answer to that question is that no one running this thing called a country ever talks about how it should be run. Everyone assumes things are just fine and is comforted to find political preferences pre-packaged and easily discernable.
You might be "liberal," "conservative," "Republican" or "Democratic." I think these labels have been created so that shopping for a political stance is a matter of checking off your list of issues. Someone has worked to take the philosophy out of politics and replaced it with childlike simplicity. How can something as broad as politics that demands the study of so many different disciplines like economics, sociology and history be understood by such few and simplified perspectives? The way a nation is managed requires immense understanding and an educated mind to avoid label philosophies.
This is all goes back to the politician who takes pleasure in knowing how easy it is to appeal to people who are spoon fed what they should think and fear. If everyone ran around thinking for themselves and tried to solve problems, we might do just that! We might solve problems, but would we need politicians for?
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