Politics all around me

 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think we ought to scrub our whole government and start over, perhaps with the wisdom of hindsight. There is so much disorganization, so much disinformation that it makes my head hurt. I am deluged with emails in these days leading up to the mid-terms.

Emails seen to fall into several categories. There are those frantic-sounding “Breaking News!” which often announce news that instead of breaking is at least a week old. Sometimes it’s just a twist on old news.

Then there are the appeals designed to make you think you are special. Maybe because I am outspoken on social media and have donated to various Democratic candidates across the country, I get emails telling me I am one of three chosen to speak for Tarrant County or I have been chosen for a special focus group.

Then there are emails claiming we are so close to passing this or that legislation, and won’t I contribute to help. For instance, I’ve gotten way too many telling me we’re close to passing the judiciary act, and If I’ll just send $10, $20, etc. we can get it passed. I resent the assumption that money will facilitate passage of legislation. How does that work? I understand that candidates need money to make the public aware of their candidacy, but by the time legislation is before Congress, how does money help? The issue should already be beyond advertising and public opinion. Does whatever PAC is soliciting intend to bribe legislators? Supposedly the legislation is now up to the wisdom of congressional members (don’t laugh—wisdom was the only word I could think of).

For candidates of either party, it all comes down to money, not policies. Apparently, the one who buys the most TV time and garners the most name recognition is assumed to win. The worst that can happen is to be out-raised, I don’t understand Citizens United enough to know how much of this harks back to that decision from SCOTUS. I do know that there are some candidates I hear from six, eight, ten times a day, and I’m tired of it.

If I’ve got my history right, the Lincoln/Douglas debates were ground-breaking because up until then it had been deemed unseemly for a man (no women allowed) to speak on his own behalf as a candidate. The office-seeker was supposed to sit back modestly, while others extolled his virtue. I don’t know but my instinct is not much money was involved.

I’d like to go back to a state where candidates could not accept contributions, even from individuals, let alone political action committees and corporations. In the spirit of getting money out of politics, I think lobbying should be a federal crime. Extreme, I know, but we’ve got to clean up this system somehow. Maybe if we did that, we would be ruled by an iron-fisted minority.

And then there’s social media, specifically Facebook. I make no apologies for being active on Facebook—I use it to tell people about my books, to build my reputation as an author (and, I hope, as a friend and a cook). I have renewed old friendships and made new ones that I treasure. But there are some awful people on Facebook who sling lies and insults without blinking an eye. They not only accuse without proof, but they are also often obviously uneducated (spelling and grammar are clues). To me that correlates with a lack of critical thinking and a willingness to accept what they are told. And as we are increasingly finding out, Russia has for some years had an active campaign to sow disinformation in our country and cause divisions among our people. Count that a success for them, and an abject failure for America.

Today a man wrote about the descrace [sic] that Biden is. I resisted the temptation to be snarky and tell him I’d take his opinion seriously when he learns to spell. Others tell me Biden is corrupt, the worst president ever, determined to destroy America, has done nothing while in office. If I suggest I’d welcome a calm discussion, I am told I need mental help. When another person went on about Biden doing nothing, I replied that I just wanted to ask her one question: did she get and accept a relief check from the government during quarantine. No answer.

I know, I know. I should just move on and not try to reason with unreasonable people—and many times I do that. But sometimes I just can’t resist.

Yep, we need to untangle this mess and start over.