Politics. Sigh.

Ahhh... the news. If you want to feel like an intelligent adult in social situations, you have to watch it on occasion. It's usually just too darn depressing for me. And I'm not just talking about the war and the violence and the senseless tragedies... I'm talking about our nation's politics, too. It's downright pitiful how we operate these days. We're so far divided that we disagree with one another purely for the sake of distancing ourselves from the "other side". Our politicians couldn't bear to be seen agreeing with someone from the opposite party on anything - that would be political suicide. We must argue simply because the hate has seeded itself that deep. We watch our politicians bumble through ridiculous arguments over issues that they should probably all agree on - and maybe deep down they do - just because the idea came from the wrong party. If it wasn't our idea, it's a terrible one. If the decision wasn't made by one of us, it wasn't the right one. It drives me completely batty. That's why I watch The Daily Show - if I had to take politics seriously, I'd probably just give up on society entirely and live out the rest of my days hidden away in a shack somewhere.

What this country really needs is leadership that can bridge the divide, but we'll never get it because compromise and team work are unelectable. You'll never win your party's nomination by being open-minded. It's all about taking a staunchly democratic or republican stand on whatever the issue is, and sticking to your guns for the rest of your natural life regardless of how science, society, economics or any other malleable aspect of civilization may change. Personally, I appreciate a politician who is willing to change his or her mind. I think that's a trait to be valued and praised! To be able to admit when you were wrong and then do something to make it right for the sake of your constituency (whether it be one small district or the entire country) is a sign of character and humility. I don't think that we elect public servants to cling to strict party lines and govern based on any one particular dogma... call me crazy, but I think that public servants ought to serve the public. That involves recognizing that not everyone in this great big country agrees with you, and you were elected to represent us all.

Now of course no elected official can please his entire constituency, least of all the President, and at the end of the day decisions must be made. We can't have our politicians just running around in circles trying to please everyone... they work inefficiently enough as it is. Unfortunately, the people they end up working hardest to please are the ones that can pony up the dough (or the votes) to win them another term in office. First things first, we need some serious campaign finance reform to fix that problem. But we also need to change the way we vet and elect politicians. We need to focus harder on personal judgment than we do on ones record of voting along the party line. We don't want someone who is going to push any one specific agenda for an entire four (or eight)-year stint in office - that yields a seriously unstable government that is constantly flip-flopping its policies every four-to-eight years. We want someone who, when it's time for a decision to be made on a tough issue that affects a lot of Americans, can be trusted to make the appropriate judgment call on what is best for America. Not what's best for the Catholic church or what's best for the Donald Trumps or what's best for the Green Peacers or any other "special interest group"... what's best for AMERICA as a whole. That is always going to involve ticking off a large group of people. Who has the guts to do it? Who has the guts even to tick off some of the people who voted for him, because at the end of the day he has determined that that's what's best for America? That's who I'd like to elect. But wherever he is, he'll never run for President. Sigh.

I have a good bit to say about some current political events (the HHS mandate, gay marriage in Maryland), but I think I'll save that for my next post. Wouldn't want this one to get too far out of control... you know how long-winded I can get ;)