I took a trip recently that included a short stay in our nation’s capital. The kind of money one needs to throw around to have a good time, much less simply survive is astronomically out of whack with a majority of the county. An annual salary of $50,000 in South Carolina (good money by most respects) would have to be at least $65,000 + in DC. It’s so expensive to live (or visit) our nation’s capital it’s not hard to understand how our politicians (most of them anyway) cannot relate or connect with the everyday “normal” person.
Some are better than others at SAYING they know our trials, but seriously those cats are so far removed from our everyday life, can any of us realistically expect an elected official to keep the proper perspective (especially in a world of “favors” and money wielding lobbyists) while living in a completely different world away from home? As far removed as that sounds, I’m willing to bet NONE of them even remotely understand what is taking place in a war zone.
I’m fairly certain a senator or congressman has never had to budget groceries or fore-go a 401k payroll deduction to make the mortgage… much less life on food stamps. What drives the disconnect even wider is the sense that organizations… PACs, unions, corporations, people with money are the only ones in the politicos’ ear. It’s gone so far as to trickle down into pop culture. John Mayer’s (a great artist BTW, especially in the Trio format) Waiting for the World to Change is catchy vanilla pop, with a dark undertone of reality.
This isn’t exactly 'Anarchy in USA' type fair. John Mayer, while extremely talented, isn’t known for political prowess. But the song underlines a common cynicism among younger voters that isn’t going away any time soon. Add to that newspapers and other media that have proven to be less than trustworthy and it quickly turns into a quandary of doubt, which only exacerbates the disconnect.
Which brings me back to DC (sorta). Of all the American heroes out there, I admire Thomas Jefferson the most. It’s hard for me to believe this man ever suffered from a lack of perception. Below are some of his quotes that are well served to us all... even some 200 odd years later.
“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
“Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.”
“Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”
2 comments:
Thomas Jefferson was, in addition to his many admirable qualities, a vindictive and jealous phony at times. If you don't believe ME, ask Alexander Hamilton, his frequent adversary, and their boss, George Washington, who usually took Hamilton's side.
You should read the Chernow bio of Hamilton, MH. I learned a lot from it that has since been easy to verify. It's certainly biased in favor of Hamilton, but not untruthfully so IMO, and they all at times come off as rather unstatesmanlike to say the least. Gave me hope when I read it. :>)
Oh well, nobody's perfect. Thanks for the comment and the book recommendation, I'll have to check it out.
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