Physician, Heal Thyself | Eastern North Carolina Now

     The American experience of a representative democracy is certainly not the most efficient political system devised by man, but it is the best attempt to balance out the needs of both individual liberty and societal progress. However, the current political and social milieu belies the strength afforded by our founders intention. We are currently heading down an internal path that is destructive in both intent and content.

    Please allow me to explain in more detail.

    The American relationship between government and those governed has reached a 50 year low. A recent study by the Pew Center suggested that 75%-80% of Americans do not trust the U.S. government to do what is right.

    What a surprise! Americans hate big, inefficient bureaucracy! Paradoxically, that same study suggested that the federal government needs more regulatory jurisdiction when it comes to the financial sector of our economy. So, we want freedom AND protection from an institution that we loathe. My understanding is that, indeed, we have always been this fickle.

    Balancing the nature and role of government in a free society today is the least of our worries. What is truly worrisome is the absence of constructive political discourse which helps us frame the issues of the day. The way I see it, there is no middle ground on any issue any more.

    Through our own desire to make sure our own narrow agenda is advanced in Washington, we elect officials who reflect that narrow agenda and have lost sight of the necessity and art of compromise in the political process. It has become very unfashionable to see another point of view; we’ve become a nation of narrow-minded, winner-take-all malcontents who will not even give the idea of consensus the time of day. The result of this political acrimony is legislative gridlock in Washington and a collective case of national animosity and alienation.

    Lets be clear about this: the founders loved open disagreements and the competition of ideas amongst people with the ability to be rational: the key word here is RATIONAL. One only needs to look at the recent gnashing of teeth over health care reform to understand that rational thought is truly an afterthought.

    Second, the expansion of our ability to gather and access information with the advent of the internet gives each of us a chance to truly explore any issue on any level to our hearts content. Unfortunately, more access to information does not necessarily translate into citizens becoming more enlightened. The rules of verifying information and analysis rely squarely on each of us and the outlets we trust. However, as in pre-internet days, too many people will dismiss information because it does not align with their own ideological preconceptions. We are, to put it bluntly, intellectually lazy and lack the desire to challenge information given to us.

    Both of the above assessments have led to a predictable result when it comes to the makeup of our elected representatives. There is no compromise, only intransigence and ideology. There is no win-win negotiating, only gamesmanship. There is no big picture thinking, only the next election cycle.

    Ladies and gentlemen, we have developed a petty, mean streak when it comes to the art of governance. Any legislative or political outcome that does not fit our own world view must be the spawn of satan himself. We have lost our ability to accept differences of opinion and the only way to reverse course is to ask, very politely, at the next forum of candidates - local or otherwise - “I’d like you to give me an example where you compromised your ideals for the sake of moving a piece of legislation for the greater good.” If we cannot ask that of candidates that are begging for our vote, then we must accept the outcome of continued stalemates in the halls of Congress.