Alternative to Blame

Gridlock has been a common feature of American politics since the 1990’s. Probably before, but the real gridlock leading to nothing getting done began with republicans blocking Bill Clinton in nearly everything he attempted to do. But they failed and he won. A lot was accomplished in the 90’s. A new political platform was established, but so too were the politics of extreme opposition. Dirty tricks were raised to an all-time high. Scandals were floated; if they ‘took’, they were manipulated to represent a much larger threat to the nation than they actually were.

Some of Clinton’s successes came from masterful methods of compromise. It seems the art of that compromise ended with him. No president since has managed to edge past gridlock like Bill Clinton.

Raw manipulation of issues and power have been the means to move beyond gridlock in the past 20 years. Some movement in congress is noted. But the main feature of congressional action is still gridlock.

Blaming others for the things you did has been a long-favorite political tactic. In the last 20 years this method has been perfected. Accompanied by the well-designed minimization of the media, politicians can get away with pretty much anything.

So tangled are current events in misspeak and propaganda, only historians with keen intellects and disciplined powers of concentration, will be able to untangle fact from fiction. Even then history will be hampered by cross stories and misleading scripts. History will need a lot of personal faith of the reader to discern what is true. So, a compromised history will result; we already have that to some degree; how far that skewing of facts will go will depend on what we allow.

I think there is an alternative to this debilitation of American politics. It won’t be easy to acquire, but with clear minds and good hearts, we can do it. Here’s how.

First, drop the blame game. Ignore the nonsense claims; if it sounds like blame, stop listening. Soon blame will be ineffective and silenced.

Second, imagine the outcomes on which we should be focusing attention. List these outcomes and prioritize them; which items build foundations for other outcomes on the list? Place the foundation outcomes high on the list of priorities.

Third, focus on achieving the high priority outcomes. Enlist supporters within the larger population of the nation. Stay away from political parties and other special interest groups. Focus on the identified outcome as the rallying cry for supporters. Power blocs will gravitate toward these outcome centers and provide the power to get them achieved. Observe how the Women's Movement is gaining traction.

Fourth, with each successive outcome coming to fruition, a new power of the people will come to life. This ‘can-do’ power center will replace political parties. No longer will personality power energize the political process; only outcome achievements will provide the energy.

Fifth, as accomplishments remake education, healthcare, public infrastructure and the language of the arts, the purpose and role of government will settle into a utilitarian model supporting quality of life. Left in the dust will be personal political noise. Process will be the star but only if desired outcomes are successfully achieved.

Realistic? Most will say no. However, we have to do something different if we expect good things to happen in the future. What we have now is broken, twisted wreckage. The ideals remain true; so do the hopes. The question is whether those are strong enough to dump the old process and discover a new one.

We have much to gain from the latter. The former has led us to the current prolonged gridlock. And a disheartening public discussion of dishonor and untruths. Time for a change. The sooner, the better. For all of us!

January 23, 2018