On those rare occasions when social movements inspire large segments of the public to become involved in politics, it is because some large, glaring injustice stirs our passions. But no one will become passionate about monitoring a thousandth of the daily activities of government. To propose that the general public voluntarily sacrifice large portions of their lives to the task of studying such tedious matters as the provisions of the latest farm bill, all so that each can have a microscopic chance of improving a microscopic fraction of government policies, is at least as utopian as proposing that we all simply agree henceforth to work selflessly for the good of society.
It is HARD to keep up with proposed legislation and regulation and harder STILL to go back and ask “Did it do what it was supposed to do? Did it do it WITHOUT evil unintended consequences? And did it stay within budget”? Rarely is the answer to these is yes and I could probably say no to all three and be right 90% of the time – but that would be trite.
Instead, the problem is not the afterwards but the birthing as the quote above demonstrates. Even for news and political junkies that the Groksters are, there is NO way we can keep up. Sure, it is an investment of time at the local level for the average NH town but rather easy with a few hours per week. Scaling that up to a larger city is harder as it is with every succeeding “higher” and more distantly located level of government. Keep up with a 1000 or so bills rolling through the NH legislature with what seems to tens upon tens of committees even further away in Concord? And then the DC dunderheads as well – the epitome of what’s wrong in US politics? At that point, it isn’t “voluntarily sacrifice large portions of their lives” – it is ALL of your life and you still couldn’t keep up even if you were single, independently wealthy, and have nothing better to do with your life.
And I haven’t even discussed Administrative “law” – the hundreds of thousands of pages of regulations churned out at all 4 levels of government (and a fifth if the Obama Government and allied Progressives get their way – Regionalism).
Government has become too big and too distant even for dedicated citizens who take their civics seriously to keep a grasp on things. And with that “bigness” and distance it has also become too intrusive – and that is the worst of all. The worst is the political class that should be duly representing us well (note that word: well) in our Constitutional Republic. As we are seeing, that Class is getting its comeuppance from We the People as The Donald and Feel The Bern are absolutely flummoxing the Establishment (aka, The Smart People) of both Parties. They sense that things have gone off the rails and out of control – I believe a lot of the support these two are getting are from folks who have decide that if the country is heading for that steel reinforced concrete wall, it was time for them to wrest that control from the Political Class and mash that pedal to the floorboard themselves. Hey, the ending, with respect to the pre-Obama transformation and the loss of traditional America, is the same but now WtP will be in charge and of their own choice.
I can’t speak as much for the Dems but I can tell you on the Right, the phrase “you have brought them upon yourselves” was never more apt. The Political Class talks about the electorate is not behaving rationally – the response is that they are inDEED acting quite rationally given their perception of what “you have done to them; how you have treated them (politically and otherwise).
You’ve made it very difficult for them to “monitoring a thousandth of the daily activities of government” to the point of impossibility. And given that difficulty, they are making it difficult for you.
Bon appetite!
