What's Wrong in the US--A Serious Problem

I have been hearing over and over that a major problem in the US concerns "fiscal" problems, notably the budget deficit. And anyone commenting on that also notes the lack of adequate attention to the problem by the government. And then they go on to point out the lack of political action, leadership, vision, and so forth.

I don't know if this is typical across the whole country, but in this area (Chicago), the last Congressional election sent to Congress maybe some half-dozen young, new, Conservative Representatives. Many or all of these are young, male, and Tea Party–leaning or –backed.

The main enterprise or objective of these Representatives has been, not to do anything constructive, but to obstruct. I hesitate to blame youth. I will blame lack of wisdom, and putting ideology before anything else, including the welfare and needs of the country as a whole.

Of course any criticism of who our legislators are must peer behind the curtain and look at who elected them. Of course the answer is, The voters. In the days in which the new nation of The United States was being set up, some of the Founding Fathers were very skeptical of democracy—because they had limited faith in the wisdom or intelligence of the voters. Now, nearly 250 years later, I think it's becoming more and more clear that maybe those voices were right. Voters are too easily seduced by things like a pretty face, a loud voice, simplistic slogans, and empty promises of positive change.

Copyright © 2012 by Richard Stein