For me, seeing the Supreme Court in action is truly inspiring – of utter disillusionment that is… Clearly these folks are more motivated by ideology than they are the Constitution… And I’m talking all nine of them… Sadly, the Court is a mere microcosm of the group occupying the building across the street (The Capitol Building)… It’s just too bad that intellectual honesty is an extinct commodity in Washington these days. And it’s too bad there’s no Santa Clause and no Tooth Fairy either…
Seriously folks, nobody’s perfect, least of all those who’d see themsleves on the verge… They’re just human beings, as susceptible to the whims of their egos as the rest of us… And would you expect humility from a “Supreme” (superior to all others by definition)? Of course not…
NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman penned an article in yesterday’s issue titled Elephants Down Under… He either just visited or is still visiting Australia and New Zealand… He reports that “there is a place in the world where moderate Republicans still exist”… He tells of a land where politicians work together, where they cross the aisle for compromise, where they make firm decisions on the issues of the day… Like the U.S. of the 60s and 70s*…
Why can’t we have that? I mean how awesome would it be if the members of the U.S. Congress could all just get along? You know; get together, meet in the middle, come to terms on a few win wins, scratch each other’s backs for crying out loud… Can you imagine what they’d accomplish? Seriously can you imagine what they’d do?
Well I can, and it scares the bejeebers out of me! I’d prefer to see them as polarized as possible… I want them politicking themselves right into their respective corners and coming out with as little as possible… I’d prefer you and I toil away at our respective vocations, meandering through the consequences of their past successes… Forever, in our individual pursuits, promoting market-based solutions to the pressing issues of the day…
Of course when our policymakers propose government-limiting legislation, which they’ll have to eventually, we’ll be having an altogether different conversation…
*Speaking of those wonderful 60s and 70s, here’s an interesting expos