The first move by Republicans who recently regained their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives illustrates once again how national politics today — as both parties lead — focus on partisanship and individuality rather than governing.
After looking into what Democrats did when they had a majority in the House, Republican members pledged to investigate. The strategy on both sides appears to be to investigate incidents, whether or not they have any consequences for the entire country.
Led by demagogues whose purpose is to fan the passions and prejudices of their followers against voices of reason and moderation, demagogues on both sides of the political aisle hope to gain personal power at the expense of effective government. Their efforts are fueled by a seemingly limitless amount of broadcast media and viral social media outlets that value sensationalism more than anything else.
Making wild assertions about a political opponent without any proof – the more wild the better? great! It can be repeated over and over again, spreading rumors and turning falsehoods into “truths”. It might even land the claimant several interviews online with a party sympathetic to him or her. The notoriety of great claimants. Bad for good government.
Then, when those claims are disproved by the facts, the way of retraction is barely audible, leading people to believe the lies.
Lost in all this noise are elected officials who want to do what they were elected to do – serve the public.
Compromise, the act of giving a little to your opponent in order to get what you want, is out of the question. Anyone willing to talk about having a meeting in the middle of an issue is going to be the target of a flamethrower from their own side, which does nothing but inflame the uninformed and those too lazy to think for themselves. Fear of such reprisals can ultimately silence moderate voices and allow extremism to reign while a few benefit from it.
Instead of compromises that make both sides winners, today’s politics practice a scorched-earth policy in which it has to be one way or the other, with no barrier between the two views.
America has been through this in the past. Unfortunately, these extremes rarely lead to any beneficial results.
We must hope that the voices of reason in both parties will come together to form a majority that can move the country forward. We have to hope that enough voters recognize the difference between a candidate who wants to serve the people and a candidate who only wants to gain power for himself. We must hope that it is not too late for the government to focus on the people rather than political interests.
