The presidential and general elections took place over a year ago. The Democrats got the White House. They have sizable majorities in the Senate and the House. Yet, we have never seen so much gridlock in Washington. Then there are the fringe groups, on both sides, wanting their pound of flesh at every turn, on every piece of legislation. If they do not get what they think is the only way to go, then no game. What?
Well, let me say this for myself. I have strong views on the role of government, tax policy, civil rights, trade policy and a host of other stuff. But I would never want an administration to try to implement policies all at once that would embody the depth and extent of these views. Never. And anyone out there who does, at the very least, need to rethink what the hell they are asking of a society.
Your very strong views about anything are your right to have. But governance is not about everyone else giving in to your whims, fancies, beliefs or passions. Governance is, among other things, about striking a healthy balance between competing positions. And that is not easy. Neither should it be, else someone would get the grand idea that maybe with a bit more charisma, a bit more lying, a bit more deception, maybe, just maybe you could blindside everyone long enough to slip something that has nothing to do with common interests past all of us. So I never want to live in a society where it is easy to make concrete changes, even if those changes completely reflect my own values.
What I want are policies that create a trend towards the views that I hold but modulated by views that are different from mine. And as we learn what works and what does not, we correct course or push ahead. And even if it is as obvious as daylight that we are on the right track with any policy, it is not always a good idea to ram your rightness down anyone's throat.
That is how democracy was meant to work. Any other way and it becomes something else - such as useless gridlock and a means to feed our delusions at the expense of others. But this is not enough for the "fringies". They want what they want and in the end they or all of us will end up getting nothing.
Yorlig Elkims is a pen name for G. W. Smikle. The author of one book, he from time to time put on his social conscious hat and writes on social issues including politics.
If you are not interested in the usual run of the mill stuff, regurgitations, agenda bolstering foolishness associated with most of our social issues, visit him at http://yorlig.com to see what comes out of this side of his head. Whether or not you come away a little mad or a bit taken aback, his goal is to get his readers thinking about the issues from a more non-conformist stance.
