Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Seeds of Discontent

I'm not sure when it happened, or if there was a specific event. Maybe it was a culmination of many events. At some point during my adult life I have accepted that my Government is very capable of lying to me, and does so on a regular basis. I've always been a bit of an idealist and I like to see the good in people. But over the years I have come to the conclusion that not everyone thinks the way I do or believes in the same principles. As I write that statement it sounds silly. Of course people are going to think differently. That is human nature, a culmination of life experiences, education, geography, religious background (or lack of) all combine to form personality, perspective, beliefs and ideals. But still, as I go through my daily life I am still surprised by all the things that people are capable of.

Children go missing and we find out that it was one of the parents who is responsible. A family murdered, and we later discover that the father was having an affair and killed his wife and children. Our politicians decide that their wedding vows are no longer important, so they decide to spice up things and ask the public for a pass after they have been discovered. Should a persons personal life be subject to scrutiny when we consider them for a job? Obviously we would like doctors and nurses to live a clean and healthy lifestyle so that they can remain alert and sharp for the life altering decisions that they make daily. Does it matter to you if your doctor cheats on his or her spouse? Does that make them any less qualified to perform surgery or to diagnose you? Probably not. So why do we object so much when politicians are unfaithful? Why does it matter?

I'll tell you why it matters to me. Why should I believe, as a citizen and voter, that an elected official has my best interests in mind when it is apparent that they are capable of lying to and deceiving a loved one? If they can do that to someone they are supposed to care about, someone that they have taken vows with, then what are they capable of doing to a faceless public? There are some good people in Government and I'm not trying to lump everyone together. People like Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich are a few that come to mind. But they are the exception, they are no longer the rule.

Gone is the era of the Statesman. The last statesman that we will see in our lifetime was probably Jesse Ventura. Regardless of what the media thought of him, he came into office, did his job, then returned to life as a private citizen. What type of government would we as a people have if we placed term limits on all elected positions? Would we have a government that more closely resembles the public? Would we have a more honest government due to the fact that corporations and special interests would only have a limited amount of time to buy someone? Congress questions the Feds motives, Senators question potential Supreme court justices, Right wingers question the Presidents healthcare plan and the citizens question nothing. They are apathetic to what is happening to their government. Hopefully we can tune in long enough to stop our Republic from disappearing. Hopefully it is not too late.