Time for a Change?
We have a crisis. Its not the air or water getting polluted. Its not that we won't have that Texas tea to power our cars for that much longer. Its not even that we want to have a big polar bear roast.
Its that we've completely devalued the idea of public service. It used to be a calling. An honour - Stepping up to serve something larger than yourself. Whether that was political office, police, fire, etc. The idea that you might go into service for the community good.
Now, that idea is the punchline of a joke. So, not surprisingly, we don't draw the best and the brightest to pound the pavement and get into service for the community. We tear those people up - So, it takes the truly brave, or the extraordinarily well connected, to run for office.
Similarly - we have abdicated our thinking. Given over that power to talk radio or the blogs or wherever else you happen to get your particular flavor of talking points. People don't sit down to rational discourse - They throw bullet points that they recycle from someone else at one another, and wait to see who yells the loudest. I don't mind someone disagreeing with me - but do it because you've actually thought about the issues, not because you saw a 45 second sound bite and now are parroting it back to me.
For what its worth - We've had campaign signs stolen on our street. We've had random passers-by yell through the door, or scrape bumper stickers off. That's not political discourse - that's hooliganism.
Its that we've completely devalued the idea of public service. It used to be a calling. An honour - Stepping up to serve something larger than yourself. Whether that was political office, police, fire, etc. The idea that you might go into service for the community good.
Now, that idea is the punchline of a joke. So, not surprisingly, we don't draw the best and the brightest to pound the pavement and get into service for the community. We tear those people up - So, it takes the truly brave, or the extraordinarily well connected, to run for office.
Similarly - we have abdicated our thinking. Given over that power to talk radio or the blogs or wherever else you happen to get your particular flavor of talking points. People don't sit down to rational discourse - They throw bullet points that they recycle from someone else at one another, and wait to see who yells the loudest. I don't mind someone disagreeing with me - but do it because you've actually thought about the issues, not because you saw a 45 second sound bite and now are parroting it back to me.
For what its worth - We've had campaign signs stolen on our street. We've had random passers-by yell through the door, or scrape bumper stickers off. That's not political discourse - that's hooliganism.
posted by Mitch at 4:17 PM
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