The political landscape is starting to heat up slightly as presidential candidates start making noises. The early showing of "The Donald" Trump does not surprise me, as he manages to stir the pot and grab attention with his "birther" obsession with Obama's legitimacy as a citizen. Americans often get suckered by these petty potboilers who press the right nerves or stir up the frustrations and resentments stored up by many. The Donald wraps up those stirrings of the discontented in a nice little bombastic package that has something for everybody with a bitch or gripe.
We love simple answers to complex problems: the simpler and catchier the key phrase, the more they eat it up. We refuse to admit---or don't want to take the time and effort to find out---that most of our real problems don't lend themselves to one-sentence solutions.
Sometimes I feel like Diogenes of ancient Greece, going around searching with his lamp for an honest man. In the political clime of today, with so many complex problems, most of us are overwhelmed, and few politicians have the courage or balls to deal honestly with the real problems. One conservative I do respect (although I do not always agree with him) is Mitch McDaniel, the Governor of Indiana, who at least faces and tries to deal with fiscal problems. He comes close to calling his shots straight.
So brace yourself. We're going to hear a lot of furious words, resonant and babbling, but with little real attempts to find honest solutions.
It's the beginning of the silly season. Look at Arizona: they're leading the way to Kooksville. It happens every four years and sometimes more often.
No comments:
Post a Comment