Has it Become Stylish

This morning in the silence, I started thinking about political news.  Each side can tell you what gives them pause.  In fact, you can probably tell me what gives the other side pause.  Every election season it’s the same thing.  If people actually believed the political rhetoric spouted during an election, we would have to agree that all our leaders are tricky, shifty, lying, crooked, dishonest, indecisive, gutless, flip-floppers.  And we elect these people!  Every public office in the land is full of these people that we all think so little of.

The country would be a total loss if this were in fact true.  Even electing the one person who says they have all the answers would not be enough to fix the mess.

Politically speaking, we have thrown decorum, courtesy, and diplomacy out the window.   It is stylish to not pull our punches, tell it like it is, let the chips fall where they may, without consideration for the pain and suffering of the people our policy will be directly affecting.

Decorum is politically correct.  We don’t need it!  We can simply remove anyone who disagrees.  We have right on our side, so if we can get a punch or two in, so much the better.  Heck, why wait until they actually make a scene or disagree?  You can tell by how they look that they are trouble makers.  Heck, we are entitled to our own opinion, so why listen to any other opinion.  We can mock, ridicule and ignor anyone who disagrees.

Courtesy is politically correct.  Why be courteous when we can reduce everything a person is, all their struggles and concerns into a harshly worded tweet, or denigrating term?   We can call people names, and are praised because of it.  We are telling it like it is!  We are being honest!  We are right and you are wrong!

Diplomacy is also politically correct.  Why use diplomatic means of solving problems when you can use your power to get your way?  Why negotiate when you can dictate?  Why compromise when we are powerful?  We don’t agree and aren’t going to, unless we get our way.

The truth is, we don’t want to spend our time working out how pay for public projects and services.  If we want highways, bridges, schools, trade between states and countries then we need government.  If we want a legal system, fire, police and a military to cope with threats from not only within our country but from around the world, then we need government.

We need a free press to keep us informed of things we can’t be present for.   A press free to report the facts as they see them, and not in a manner approved by our political representatives.  A press of diverse points of view, not cherry picked and approved by our leaders.

If you sincerely believe all of our representatives are crooks, then you have the freedom to step up, and give us the leadership we need.  If you don’t trust the press you have the freedom to get yourself out to meetings and see for yourself exactly what is being done in those meetings, plus you could write your own report.  Every governing body has a gallery for those who wish to see our leaders at work, from the smallest local council or school board to Congress.