Well,
the world is a happening place these days…is it not? The dissonance that was ushered in with
Donald Trump’s election to the Presidency has not abated and, in fact, seems to
be gathering steam each and every day.
The struggles across the face of the globe for power, wealth, and
influence play out in their own little theatres and the ripples from each form
a complex and unpredictable mosaic of intrigue, disaster, and tragedy. And here in America, it appears the flavor du jour for effective governing
is to put our high school students in charge of domestic policy. Judging from their incredible abilities (wink, wink) to manage mass events in
support or opposition to various causes, they would all appear to have bright
futures in event management or crowd organization. But then again, once they ascend to the
podium and we begin to actually hear their words, the luster falls from their
shining images and we are reminded that they are likely closer to playing the
role of useful idiots than they are
of being prophetic revolutionaries. So…on to a comment or two…
First
off, please allow me to address the Storm (pun
is absolutely intended) that is gathering around our President regarding
his apparent previous relationship with an ex-porn star. I have stated in this column before and I
will say it again: Based on his history, behavior both current and past, and
his rhetorical theatrics, the President is a pig. He appears to harbor a snarky, chauvinistic
attitude that is unworthy of a person in his leadership position. It matters not that we have had scoundrels
before as President. It is irrelevant
that Clinton likely did more of it and Kennedy did it a lot smoother. What matters is that we have every right to
expect a higher standard from our President.
I do not pretend to sit in judgment of our President’s behavior; I am
not qualified to do so and that obligation lies with another. But don’t we all occasionally marvel that we
as a people select some of the worst amongst us to lead our government? Whatever traits we as voters find appealing
in our candidates, strong morality and character are certainly not near the
top. It seems that when we get
candidates on the ballots that appear to exhibit those traits, it becomes more
of a liability for ridicule than an asset for selection. Do we want a saint in elected office? I don’t think that is a good idea. Do we want someone in office that has demonstrated
a grasp on decent standards of behavior and living? Well, yes.
No matter how strongly one may support his policies, all the wise
leadership decisions in the world will not cancel out the fact that Trump was a
hound and seems to remain unchanged to this day. We can, and should, do better.
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Now…how
about that big budget that Congress just passed and the President will, or has,
signed? What…a…freaking…joke! This budget is for federal fiscal year
2018. This federal fiscal year runs from
October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018.
Federal fiscal year 2018 is nearly fifty percent over. The primary role of Congress is to fund our
nation’s government. Now in fairness to
the Republicans, any budget action under current Senate operational rules would
require 60 votes. There are not 60 Republicans
in the Senate. Therefore, it is
disingenuous to blame this budget fiasco on the Republicans simply because they
hold a majority status in the Senate and the House. However, it is not disingenuous to blame the
Republicans for (a) failing to use all of the administrative tools at their disposal
to arrive at a more responsible budget in a timely fashion or (b) voting for
such a ridiculous fiasco. The prevailing
argument amongst the Republican apologists who have voted for this bill is that
they had no choice. Look at the good it
does…in spite of its pitfalls! We were
up against a wall! There would have been
a shutdown of the government! The
Democrats made us do it (Trump’s favorite)! All of these pathetic excuses have been used
before and are just as lame today as they were then. The plain, simple, and unavoidable fact is
that the time to write, complete, and pass a federal budget is prior to the beginning of a budget year;
thus the term…federal budget. It is designed to be a blueprint for future government spending, which should
reflect government policies. As has been
the pattern for several past administrations, it is now routine for our
government to operate on seat of your
pants continuing resolutions for the majority of the time. The first words out of
every…single…professional…personal financial advisor is…prepare a budget. That
concept is so universally accepted that it is actually the law of the land in
America for our government. Is it really
any surprise that so much of our government is helter-skelter and dysfunctional
when it operates for most of the time on a week-to-week, month-to-month
budget? The Republicans own this
budget. They controlled the
organizational levers of the Senate for the majority of fiscal year 2017; the
time period when the FY2018 should have
been completed. Congress…Just do your
job. Do it in a timely fashion. Do it in an honest and transparent
fashion. Spend the federal dollars in a
responsible and efficient way.
And
finally, what do you think about our school administrators deciding which political
causes should be worthy of excused student absences due to participation in
support rallies? And, apparently, in a
few selected cases, that excused absence might be coupled with financial
assistance…from your local tax
dollars. As a father, I have celebrated
my children’s participation in the political process. I have not, and do not, always agree with
their positions; but I always celebrate their willingness to engage in the
process. However, the one thing I have
always encouraged in them is the obligation to educate oneself on the issue
prior to publicly taking a position on it.
This requires a careful consideration of not only defining exactly what the issue involves, but also the differing opinions and ideals surrounding
the issue. I submit that this essential precursor
to intelligent issue debate and discussion is missing in many of the great
policy debates that are currently ongoing; including, but not limited to, the
gun control debate. Most parents and
school administrators have viable and constructive alternatives to giving
students the green light to skip school, carry signs written by others, shout
out slogans they did not author, and pledging blind allegiance to politically correct causes when they are
patently unfamiliar with the details and substance of the issues
themselves. Dinner tables and school
classrooms are fertile ground for debates and discussions about the facts surrounding gun control; but that
ground is obviously not being cultivated when the majority of the school
students protesting in these marches cannot even define the term assault weapons while marching to ban
them. Educators need to educate; not
agitate. Parents need to foster; not
co-opt that privilege to others. Gun control
is a serious, complex, and extremely pertinent issue that should be addressed by our young adults. But that approach should be a reflection of
the lessons we have learned over the ages involving going off half-cocked about
things that you don’t know shit about. As I mentioned previously regarding the
selection of leaders with good moral fiber; it is an eternal mystery why we as
a culture look to Hollywood for our moral standards, look to WDC and the
Judiciary for ethical behavior benchmarks, and turn our children over for
raising to an educational system that is riddled and dominated by a liberal
philosophy which is rotting the foundations of our nation and society.
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