War, inflation should show us it’s past time to get serious about our government. Here’s how
If art imitates life, one in particular — comedy — would have a hard time keeping up with the state of affairs in this country.
There is war raging on the other side of the world from us. We see it on the news, but we aren’t living it. We feel the impact of growing inflation and supply chain disruption, especially palpable here because we are importing oil from the very countries that mean us the most harm.
The secretary of energy laughs off serious questions from reporters about US energy production, specifically the lack of it. No one in Texas is laughing. Nothing is funny about job loss and fuel shortages to Texans who have enough oil, natural gas and manpower to fuel our nation.
These are serious issues of the highest order. These are not hypothetical situations in a campaign debate setting. This is the real thing.
When will we get serious? Nothing about the state of Washington gives us the slightest hint we’re not living in an HBO comedy.
Too long have we been willingly lulled into inconsequential debates on culture war crises led by pop culture icons, consuming our media and thus our public discussion. All the while, dictators are taking notes and taking lives.
For our part as citizens, we are collectively derelict in our duties. We repeatedly say we want issues addressed yet continue to elect the very people who have gotten us in the fix we are in — for 40 years or more, in some cases.
We have exactly what we “ordered” for our government: unserious, sound-bite spewing, opinion-poll driven, power-hungry people whose primary goal is to win, at all costs, always promising to deal with the fallout later. Even when the fallout includes record debt, teetering healthcare delivery systems and record inflation rates.
We must be brutally honest with ourselves. Are you really ready for balanced budgets, reduced deficits, and leaner, more responsive government? Do you really want a doctor-patient driven healthcare delivery system? Our elections don’t reflect that.
What about our education system? Many of our children cannot read or complete math at grade level upon graduation, despite copious data showing that students who are reading at grade level after third grade have an 83% graduation rate and a similar success rate post-graduation. We know what the solution is and have the means to do it, but we do not ensure this single, very basic skill — reading — for every one of our kids. Why not?
If we are to leave our children and grandchildren a nation that is strong, that ensures them opportunities to grow and thrive, to live their dreams, we must demand, and vote for a government in which ideas are actually debated, and policy proposals aren’t presented in the dead of night, their outcome already decided.
Our children are watching us, learning from our actions how to be adults.
What will we do in the face of these challenges? We can point fingers – there’s plenty of blame to go around. Or we can demonstrate how we face challenges responsibly, facing facts, and addressing our challenges directly.
Look to the politicians who demand a return to actual budgeting. Look to leaders who demand real, consequential debates in Congress. Look to elected officials at every level who demand legislation is read, reviewed and scrutinized before being voted on.
We haven’t yet reached the “times that try men’s souls,” as Thomas Paine described. But that day is swiftly coming, if the American people don’t demand a return to order and to sanity.
What will you choose?
