That our elected officials in Washington D.C. get their pay even if they fail to do their job of keeping the government from shutting down is not surprising; those who would have to implement such a rule that they don't get paid are the ones who would be affected, and who in their right mind would choose to forsake their pay?
Not that there's exactly a surfeit of right-mindedness in that town, but even a nigh moron would see the flaw in bringing up the topic to all of one's colleagues that everyone should not get paid if they cannot figure out a way to justify why they should get paid. Nobody on either side of the aisle would go for that (although some would give it lip service to make it seem like they aren't the same ol' politicos that everyone complains about).
It's at times like these that I find some comfort in having come of age in the wake of Watergate—which was not the beginning of such despicable behavior by those in power by any stretch of the imagination, but was where we could no longer pretend things in government were better than we'd hope they were. I never had an idealized era to make me think politicians are any less screwed up than the rest of us. That sounds like some dispirited defense mechanism (and certainly it does offer a defense) but I like to think it merely provides me with a realistic outlook on what one should expect.
Also, that we've been through a shutdown before—heck, that we've been through presidential impeachments and disgrace brought to the Oval Office—and the country kept going shows that the issues we face now are not the end; all these things are cyclical, so the good times will be followed by bad, but eventually the bad will give way back to good (and so on).
There's only room for debilitating sadness if one views now as the good times.
I do not.
I am jaded (without question), but I am not a pessimist. That allows me to know better than to be surprised by where we are now while at the same time not being devastated by it.
It also helps me to feel as though bringing a new person into this world is not a hideous mistake. He/she undoubtedly will endure similar ups and downs from those we elect; whether he/she will have the same perspective only time will tell.
But those idiots in Washington will never vote to take away their pay. That much is certain.
Not that there's exactly a surfeit of right-mindedness in that town, but even a nigh moron would see the flaw in bringing up the topic to all of one's colleagues that everyone should not get paid if they cannot figure out a way to justify why they should get paid. Nobody on either side of the aisle would go for that (although some would give it lip service to make it seem like they aren't the same ol' politicos that everyone complains about).
It's at times like these that I find some comfort in having come of age in the wake of Watergate—which was not the beginning of such despicable behavior by those in power by any stretch of the imagination, but was where we could no longer pretend things in government were better than we'd hope they were. I never had an idealized era to make me think politicians are any less screwed up than the rest of us. That sounds like some dispirited defense mechanism (and certainly it does offer a defense) but I like to think it merely provides me with a realistic outlook on what one should expect.
Also, that we've been through a shutdown before—heck, that we've been through presidential impeachments and disgrace brought to the Oval Office—and the country kept going shows that the issues we face now are not the end; all these things are cyclical, so the good times will be followed by bad, but eventually the bad will give way back to good (and so on).
There's only room for debilitating sadness if one views now as the good times.
I do not.
I am jaded (without question), but I am not a pessimist. That allows me to know better than to be surprised by where we are now while at the same time not being devastated by it.
It also helps me to feel as though bringing a new person into this world is not a hideous mistake. He/she undoubtedly will endure similar ups and downs from those we elect; whether he/she will have the same perspective only time will tell.
But those idiots in Washington will never vote to take away their pay. That much is certain.
No comments:
Post a Comment
So, what do you think?