Original: February 22, 2011 Issue 11
By: Evan Ricucci
Editing Manager
If you pay any attention to politics you hear a lot of talk about agendas. Surprisingly enough, agendas are considered bad things in the political world. The only problem is that everyone has them. I hear a lot of complaining about this or that politician on the other side of the political aisle who is only trying to “get its agenda passed.” Every time I hear this, I feel the urge to laugh, cry, and hit something all at once. I am also filled with wonder about what exactly these people expect politicians to be doing.
I do not hear any tea party voters complaining about the agenda the tea party movement is trying to accomplish. Nor do I see any liberal complaining about the attempted socialization of our economy by the Obama administration. What I do see is hypocrisy from all sides and that, to me, is just as offensive as someone trying to get things done their way.
Politicians and pundits are professional slanderers. That is their job. Rarely does a bill get passed or an idea becomes accepted because it is liked overall by a majority of people. That can happen, but it is rare. It is much easier, however, to win by showing how stupid, inept, corrupt, or some combination of the three your opponent and its agenda are.
If politicians actually focused on fixing problems instead of pointing out the problems their opposition has, we may be able to achieve some form of success or progress. Please excuse my idealism, even my cynicism must rest. This obviously will never happen because fixing our problems is the last thing politicians want to do. As soon as our problems are fixed the need for people to fix them (aka the politicians) disappears. So it is in their best interest to simply yell at people that disagree with them instead of actually working on solutions to our nation’s problems.
Power, not resolution, is the politician’s end game. The key to solving our problems is not entrusting them into the hands of an elitist in Washington. The solution is in our own hands to fix. The question is whether we are willing to take the necessary steps, no matter how difficult, to make a better life for ourselves by solving our own problems.
