I often wonder just what has caused the gridlock that has dominated our national politics of the last few years. Is the cause all those wing nuts that are now holding down seats in our congress? I want to believe that if we could just get rid of those guys everything might return to normal, whatever that is. But are those yahoos the cause or just a symptom of our problems?
It is widely acknowledged that over 80% of both the Republican and Democratic members of congress are in safe districts. That is to say they they will get re-elected almost no matter what they do or don’t do. So, maybe it turns out that the real cause of our recent problems is with the people who elect these people regardless of their performance.
To me there just seems to be a moral breakdown within our society today. A big part of that breakdown I believe is dominated by fear. Since around 1980 things have lost almost any semblance of security.
- Jobs which were once thought to be a thirty year and out thing has virtually disappeared. It seems most people will now change jobs at least seven times during their working life.
- Retirement used to be an almost sure thing for many of us. We had jobs with secured pensions. We are now pretty much on our own and we fear that we will not manage to save enough because we simply don’t earn enough to put away the required amounts and still put food on the table.
- And then there was 9/11.
Fear just seems to dominate much of our thinking now days. When we are fearful of so much we tend to fold back upon ourselves and our primal needs. We quit thinking about the common good and think only about self. One of the aspects of this fear is that we fear that others are taking away from us because they are getting things they don’t deserve.
RJ's Corner 
RJ – I agree that fear is driving a lot of behavior both in Washington and with those of us who vote and elect the individuals that work there. I also think that a lot of people are simply afraid of all the change that is happening (and going faster than it did yesterday!). I think the world that we started our lives and careers in have changed so dramatically and so quickly – we are truly part of a global world and economy! I think we’re trying to figure out how to adjust to this world for it simply isn’t the post-WWII era that so many of us grew up in and thought would last forever. Maybe it just once again proves the maxim that the only thing you can count on in life – is change. I wish I knew how to help others (and myself at times) figure out how to better accept change and not fight it with fear. Mike
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Hi Mike, good to hear from you again. Yes, I am sure that change has a lot to do with the fear many have nowadays. In some ways since I have been retired from the corporate world for 13+ years I have been isolated from much of that.
Our adaptation to the global economy is a big problem as far I am concerned. Our government is so dysfunctional now that they seem to be unable to make the changes necessary to address this issue. Education of our next generation around getting jobs in the 21st century is critical to this but all we seem to see is cuts in education budgets. Most of the rest of the advanced nations have given up the concept of a three-month summer vacation. Why do we stubbornly cling to that outdated concept. We are way down on the list for educating our youth and that will be a serious problem going forward. We almost need a paradigm shift in many ways in both our educational processes and mentality in that regard.
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