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In the October 28 issue of PortFolio Weekly, the “Best of Hampton Roads” issue, there was a category for Best Politician. Following the category was the heading, “Isn’t That An Oxymoron?” If that wasn’t enough, it was followed by some of the readers’ responses to that category. Among them were,“Yuk, They all Suck” and finally, “Are you kidding?” I don’t know why this irritated me so much since the responses were predictable.
Don’t get me wrong, I love reading Portfolio Weekly, but what I don’t appreciate are the continuous attacks on politicians. I may be one of the last Americans around who really likes politics and politicians. Maybe it’s because I appreciate how challenging it is to run a campaign, to get elected and then serve in an elected position. And while it has become a mantra in American politics to disparage “career politicians” or “Washington Insiders,” I have never supported term limits or begrudged anyone who chose to make politics a profession.
The alternative to politics is anarchy and violence. The great English political theorist Thomas Hobbes taught us a long time ago that if anyone is longing for this alternative, one could find life to be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”Perhaps a one-way ticket to Baghdad would cure any longing for this alternative. In a representative democracy, it is we the people who get to choose our rulers. So for all those who lament about the sorry state of politics, I would say that we the people get what we deserve.
When I ask my students what they do when they are sick, they always respond that they go to a doctor. After all, it is the doctor who practices the art of medicine. In the same way, there is an art to politics. Technically I may be called a political scientist but I learned a long time ago there is more art than science in politics. Not only must the politician have incredible physical stamina, but also she must be a thinker, a teacher and a leader.
About now you might be thinking that what I have described in the previous paragraph is some Platonic form of the perfect politician, which only exists in Platonic heaven. I disagree. Most politicians are hard-working individuals who do have incredible stamina and while one may disagree with their ideologies, they are thinkers, teachers and leaders. After working in political positions at the Federal, State and local levels, I left my service less cynical than when I began it. I have worked with and for Democrats and Republicans. The one common denominator in all my experiences was that each of those politicians believed that he or she was making their country, their state or their city a better place for people to live. In short, they were decent human beings who were committed to ideas and politics was their vehicle to share those ideas.
With a high learning curve in any political position, be it mayor or legislator, two or four-year terms are barely long enough to learn the ropes and mature in the position. The expectation that term limits will produce better politicians remains a mystery to me. Term limits are built into democratic theory – we simply do not re-elect people. It seems incredibly undemocratic to limit citizens’ choices by imposing a term limit. Of course, it makes it easier for all those folks who love to complain about politicians and don’t vote. Every four years in Virginia we will have a new governor whether we want one or not.
As in any profession, politics has had its share of rascals and sometimes a true demagogue has emerged to wreak havoc and chaos among the populous. It is the citizens’ responsibility to check these undesirables and purge them from the political arena. Getting better candidates to run for office will certainly not happen when citizens go on autopilot with term limits and low voter participation. For those of you who think that campaign finance reform is the real key to improving politics, I agree with you. The problem is that this idea is not sexy enough to resonate with most American voters. Thus few politicians (except John McCain and Russell Feingold) will put the political capital into it as a major issue. As a result, it will remain a problem until we the people demand politicians have the political will to reform it.
In the meantime, I will continue to sing the praises of politics and politicians. More importantly, I will stay informed, vote and participate in the system because I enjoy having input about the air I breathe, the roads I drive on and all the other things that affect the quality of my life and my dogs’ lives.
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CORY JOHNSON |
Since I was a kid, Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been my two favorite holidays of the year. For some people, it’s a time to see family that you only see once a year. For other’s it’s a time for some much needed rest. For me, it’s a time to get back in touch with my roots. When my family comes down, it’s three generations of Johnsons that I never actually thought would be in the same room. It’s a feeling that can’t compare to opening presents on Christmas Day.
The Johnson family is not your traditional holiday family. My family ranges all along the east coast. From New York to Florida, Johnson’s of all ages come to Virginia to celebrate. I find it very difficult to be away from life at Wesleyan. While you are away at college, you get accustomed to several things. You do not have your mom there to cook those delicious and nutritious meals that only mom can cook. For a college student, it’s just a quick greasy meal in the Grille or Taco Bell takeout. Once you are back at home, it’s time for that gigantic roast turkey, stuffing, and all those homemade desserts and pies. In my hometown of Jarratt, Va., I am still stuck in my own private Wesleyan world. I have become so used to going anywhere I want, when I want, and not having to tell anyone, especially a parent, where I am going. I feel as though I am sixteen again. As much as I love my family, I do not feel that I have to reveal my every move as though I am an inmate in a maximum-security penitentiary.
One thing most people need to understand is that your family will always be there for you. Even though I am twenty years old, I still count on my family for everything. Considering some of the things that I do, some of which are quite out there, my family knows and still loves me. They know that I am away at college and that when I come back home, I have to resume the life that I left there. That is why I love the holidays, because it gives me the chance to find what I have missed from out-of-town family members and to tell them all about my life as well.
Like the Johnson family saying goes, “If you have Johnson pinned to your name, then you are an original trademark.” But my favorite is: “The family that cooks, laughs and shares drinks together, stays together.”
Picture this: you’re walking by Wal-Mart’s over-the-counter drug section, and you see pills that will enhance a quality about yourself that is not accepted in the mainstream of society. Would you take it? The pill wouldn’t make you taller or stronger, faster or smarter, but it would change an attribute that deems you a social outcast. For instance, if you were blind, the pill would allow you to see.
My sister is a 21-year-old hearing-impaired college student at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. When she visited me recently, we planed to do several things together. One of them was to see a movie. I called all the movie theaters in the area and asked if any carried the equipment necessary for captioning movies. Most of the managers I talked to offered headsets, but none of the theaters had the ability to caption. What good would a headset do for someone who is hearing-impaired? I think I was more upset about this than my sister.
My sister and I then started talking and I brought up the idea about taking this imaginary pill that would allow her to hear. She laughed. She couldn’t understand why someone would want to change a characteristic that makes him or her person they are. She reminded me that being hearing-impaired has never gotten in the way of her success. Accept the gifts you have been given in life. Don’t focus on what you think your imperfections are. If you do, you will never be happy. Think about it. If you’re too caught up in what other people think of you, you will never see your true self. Society is uncomfortable with accepting people in general.
Let’s say the pill actually works. You could be considered an “equal” with everyone else. However, if you were the same as your neighbor, where would the vibrancy of life manifest? Nowhere. Everything would be dull and repetitious. Happiness and being accepted in society will never be available in pill form. Instead, happiness and acceptance can only happen by the choices you make in life. Choose to live without worrying about what others think. It’s a rippling affect that has no positive endings. Sometimes there isn’t an explanation for the way one was born. In the wisdom of Jack Handy from Saturday Night Live, “If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.” But they don’t, so why do we?
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