I really don’t have time to write this, but I think it needs to be said. Politicians suck. Not all, but most of the ones that are there really do suck. I’m not going to back this with facts, so we’ll call this an opinion piece just like the rest of them. But if you don’t already have facts in your hat about how the politicians of today suck, you aren’t paying attention.
But whose fault is that? I see people constantly blaming politicians for this and for that and all the stuff they do and don’t do. And they are (SOO NOT) right.
The politician here is a representative of the populace. They speak and act for the people. I mean, that’s what it’s supposed to be. The people voted them in by a majority (let’s stay away from the electoral college for this one as I’m talking about the House and Senate currently) and keep them in by a majority. And if they really wanted them out before the term is done, well, it would take a majority. But they could do it.
However, I say lets stop blaming the politicians. It’s not their fault. They’re just doing what they do. Who can really blame them? No one. They are the same creature that have been there for hundreds of years. When one under-performs, misrepresents, lies, counter-produces, destroys, etc, they are not to blame. Because they did it last year. And knowing that, we allowed them to do it again this year. And knowing that, we will allow them to do it next year.
Do you know the best way to get someone you’re dating to treat you the way you want to be treated? You set expectations. You act on it. You voice when something did not go towards your expectations. Some parts of a relationship are compromise, but some parts are not. Let me give you a very clear example. My mom taught me to open the door for women (only the nice ones, not that ones that are going to gouge your eyes out for treating them differently; I now, in fact, open the door for absolutely everyone, because it’s nice, and ammunition against the “I can do this for myself!” party, but I digress). However, she doesn’t smack me on the head when I don’t. She doesn’t lecture me, and picket, or bitch when I don’t. She simply stands at the door and waits. It’s a very clear communication of what her expectations are. In fact, if you didn’t grow up opening doors for women, it takes you only a second to learn what she’s expecting you to do. Incidentally, my mom makes it very easy for a man to be a gentleman. As I type this, I realize that this is my new definition of what it takes to be a lady. Thanks, mom!
So, when the politician does what we don’t want them to do, who is to blame? Is it the politician who was never taught to do the right thing? The politician who got out of practice of doing the right thing because we did not communicate to them in a very clear manner? If the politician is the door holding gentleman and we, the people, are the lady walking through… are we a lady who communicates clearly our expectation and make it easy for the politician to be a gentleman? Or do we point a finger at this dude who thinks we are incapable of doing it ourselves even though the intent was a simple pleasantry?
So, when we have a politician who does wrong, it’s completely on us. It’s not them. It’s us. Please repeat that.
So, here’s my remedy. And I think it might work. From now on, we do not refer to politicians, we refer to the states they represent. No, no. Not even the states. The people. For instance, on January 25, the people of New York introduced a bill into the house to repeal the 22nd amendment, removing the limit on presidential terms. This after the last president who served four terms caused the people to limit said terms. I’m guessing we tried to put a cork in a leaky bucket after we saw how much it cost us.
Do you hear how that sounds? Now we have someone to blame! The people of New York! To be fair, every state has things we can blame on them, I’m just picking onecame across my view this morning. However, why don’t we start doing that? I bet that if you started referring to the people of the state rather than the representative, they will soon understand that the people are at fault for these crappy bills, not the politicians.
Shame is a good thing here. Sometimes we need to feel ashamed at choices we make if they are shameful choices. Shame isn’t permanent. It’s a learning opportunity that can be rectified with action. So, from now on, when you find yourself in a political conversion, lay the blame where it is due.
