POLITICIZING AMERICA
Clearly the politicization of America is alive and well. Witness the way politics has come to completely dominate discussion of Terri Schiavo's condition. What should be a family matter has been taken over by the politicians and used for their totally selfish and nefarious purposes. Whatever happened to the kinder, gentler way we dealt with Ian Gonzales, the Cuban boy washed up on our shores? In that case, we kept our cool, seeing the situation in child welfare terms, while the Cubans wholly politicized the boy's situation, using it get in digs at Castro.
No good can come of politicizing everyday life. America has remained a stable democracy for better than 200 years in large part because we have not been a highly political people. In the past, we've lived our lives largely outside the political arena, leaving that to a few stalwarts who love the rough and tumble of power grabs. The rest of go about our business taking a very jaundiced view of politicians and everything they say and do. Now, however, we're getting more and more involved in political debates and turning every social issue and even family problems into political battle grounds between the right and left.
I suggest that we be careful about too much political activity. We can end up with the sort of instability that dogged some European democracies for decades. Unless elected politicians foul up too badly, we are better off to just let them do their jobs while we go about doing our jobs. Then if they make too big a mess of things, we can quietly throw them out in the next election. There is no reason to intertwine every activity of private life with political parties and partisan debates.
Question 1: How can a man who looks like a cadaver inspire confidence in the Department of Homeland Security?
Question 2: Why must jurors give interviews to the media after a trial. It seems to me that the deliberations that take place within the jury room should be confidential forever? Hard decisions have to be made there and a lot of give and take is required to arrive at a fair decision. Let that process remain with the jury members and not become the focus of media attention and second guessing.
No good can come of politicizing everyday life. America has remained a stable democracy for better than 200 years in large part because we have not been a highly political people. In the past, we've lived our lives largely outside the political arena, leaving that to a few stalwarts who love the rough and tumble of power grabs. The rest of go about our business taking a very jaundiced view of politicians and everything they say and do. Now, however, we're getting more and more involved in political debates and turning every social issue and even family problems into political battle grounds between the right and left.
I suggest that we be careful about too much political activity. We can end up with the sort of instability that dogged some European democracies for decades. Unless elected politicians foul up too badly, we are better off to just let them do their jobs while we go about doing our jobs. Then if they make too big a mess of things, we can quietly throw them out in the next election. There is no reason to intertwine every activity of private life with political parties and partisan debates.
Question 1: How can a man who looks like a cadaver inspire confidence in the Department of Homeland Security?
Question 2: Why must jurors give interviews to the media after a trial. It seems to me that the deliberations that take place within the jury room should be confidential forever? Hard decisions have to be made there and a lot of give and take is required to arrive at a fair decision. Let that process remain with the jury members and not become the focus of media attention and second guessing.
posted by Jerry at 7:22 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home