Tags
America, Americans, Clinton, Government, Media, Orrin Hatch, politics, Presidential Election, Ted Kennedy, Trump, U.S. Election
The most recent Presidential election has left me adrift. I did not like either choice, but voted for one. The tone was embarrassing, although probably no worse than at the start of our republic. Every institution was denigrated. The broadcast media on the whole and print media, to a lesser extent, did not inform but earned revenue from railing against candidates they purportedly were against. Most are doing postmortem justifying their ignorance and bias without trying to reach out to the segments of America that these outlets ignore. The FBI lost its way. If true, foreign governments, directly or indirectly, interfering in our electoral process cannot go unanswered.
I feel no attachment to government officials from whom I receive mail, email, or phone calls once a year around elections and then ignore me the rest of the year. I have no access and they have no use for me because most districts are non-competitive design. We like competition in business, but don’t get it in government.
I look at the pool of future candidates and see none that are inspiring. The broken system of saying “no” to the other side does not encourage anyone of substance. Too much money involved to run and too much personal dirt to have to live with. Who would want it.
I think about taking my son to the U.S. Senate when he was a little boy. He saw Orrin Hatch and the late Ted Kennedy vigorously debate a healthcare matter. They seemed to dislike each other. I told him to watch them both after the debate. They had different viewpoints, but were best friends. Same with Justices Ginsburg and Scalia. I can’t find “statesmen” today.
I watch the protests over the President-elect. I can understand the feeling given how offensive he was. However, those now protesting rightly complained when Mr. Trump refused to affirmatively state that he would accept the result if he lost. Now they do the same.
We are in some respects getting the candidates and government officials we deserve. We don’t listen and empathize. The problem is us. Let’s right the ship that is America by celebrating and helping each other.
