The Great American Cop Out

I realized I have for the most part tuned out from what passes for political discussion in this great land of ours these days. Together, we have traveled a great distance from a time when a politician who dared ask we Americans to get off our collective arse and do something to improve our country and our lives actually got elected




Most of the political discussion I hear recently follows something like this stale libretto;

I don't like the way things are going (oh, woe is me)
I'm doing everything right, so this isn't fair
Someone else needs to improve, and everything will be great.

I don't mean to pick on the Tea Party folks, or anyone else. I hear this trend from every corner of the public policy boxing ring. (BTW, why does a boxing ring have corners? Discuss amongst yourselves.)

I can give a few examples of this. I don't want to give to many for fear of sounding like a filibuster from The Honorable Senator Oscar T Grouch.

On California's inability to land a state budget within 2 parsecs of the milky way, we hear our honorable politicians and pundits (consistently from green to tea partying Republicans) tell us the problem is that the Federal Government won't promise to lend the state about $10 billion. I mean, really now, our Governor asked nicely, so what's their problem. If only the Federal Government would find the money. . . Perhaps California's long history of reaching political compromise (in both the legislature and general election propositions) by simultaneously granting tax decreases and increased program expenditures is a behavior that needs changing. . .naah.

Arizona (sigh). . . I don't even know what problems the good people of Arizona plan to solve by passing a proposition to make "Brown without a license" probable cause for arrest. All I can figure out is that someone thinks Mexicans can solve Arizona's problems by going away, and this law will help them do just that. All I can say is that if I lived in a real estate market as arse-over-teakettle , I would not want to vote for any law designed to drive potential renters or home buyers away from my community. (Oopsy, I forgot I do live in that kind of market. If only I could have invented a Star Trek transformer and found my Santa Clara brother a place here. Would've saved beaucoup bux).

An entire nation is complaining about China. We demand loads and loads of cheap crap, which they pretty much uncomplainingly labor to provide to us, and willingly lend us scads of money to buy more when whatever we bought breaks. Perhaps, just perhaps, if we Americans saved our own money before buying things, and demanded and paid for quality, things might be different.

Enough of my griping. I'm rambling, so sue me to get your time back.

I'll end this with a short quote form Mahatma Gandhi, the worlds toughest many. Seriously folks, he beat the British Army with nothing but a loincloth.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."