It’s that time of the year again; the final two weeks before Election Day; the political machine is at full throttle. Every politician and pundit is out there stumping for votes. Pick me, I’m the smartest, pick me, I’m the prettiest, pick me, I care more about you than the other guy; its pathetic, and all done in the name of public service.
Educated guess probably 1 out of every 10 politicians are motivated by the public service angle of politics. Think about it. Most of the people who run for national elections are lawyers. So these are smart people who have means, and they choose to throw their name in the hat of basically a “glorified beauty contest”. Why? The reward for winning must be much greater than the humiliation of losing.
Listen these people are motivated by greed for the most part. Holding high public office in a state is the equivalent to being at the top of the primo networking pyramid. The connections made are invaluable, the winner will be able to write his/her own ticket. This is not public service. It’s personal service.
The people who run in these elections are unstable. All of them! Who would choose to have an “open to the public” job interview? Who would choose to have their family members lives turned up side down, have their finances scrutinized, have everything they’ve ever said, done, wrote examined under a microscope? No one, save a narcissist, would want all of that attention brought to them.
There are so many options for a person seeking public service, and politics is by far the least attractive option. But every year they throw their names in the ring, because they need to fill that void of public acceptance. Smart men and women don’t have to choose this. They can choose the path of Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Gloria Steinem, and Martin Luther King; philanthropist, spiritualist, activist. Public service can be done better outside of the political arena.
Our political system is so gridlocked in America. Democracy is the best template; God knows we don’t need a theocracy, or a monarchy for that matter. Democracy feels right, and I can’t think of anything better. But I can’t help but feel sadness each year when election time rolls around. The constant finger pointing, name-calling, personal attacks, scandals, overt begging, broken promises, lip service, have all left me very cynical.
Full disclosure, I’m a republican. A few weeks back President Obama was floating ideas about different way the government could reduces taxes to help small businesses. Tax cutting is on the top tier of my party’s platform. It’s our wet dream, our holy grail, it’s our religion, but because this is an election year we found a cute way of saying NO to Mr. Obama’s ideas.
I throw up my hands. I surrender. The two party system has made me give up.
This has got to stop. Democracy is good, but the two party system as currently constructed is evil. Nothing can get done. This is not public service; it’s public disservice. I say blow the whole system up. Registered voters should not have to select party affiliation. To take it a step further there should be no parties. We should be made to vote for individuals and not parties. We should have two resumes in the voting booth, and have to vote the resume without seeing name or party affiliation. Also we need term limits. If it’s good for the president then it’s good for the congress.
A career politician is the equivalent of a career prostitute, or even worse a career beauty pageant contestant. I don’t want any one of the three representing my best interest, do you?
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