View from the Mountain

Government by Grievance

We have a problem with government but it is not what most people think.  We have grown to be a very large country and the only way to govern a large population like ours is to have a big government.  A lot of people do not like a big government or even any government at all. Unfortunately, there is no choice but to make the best of our imperfect system of government.

Some form of government is essential whether we are talking about very local areas or our whole country.  Government is a business but it is unlike any other business. There are a lot of folks who want benefits from the government. Unfortunately, some of those who scream the most about others getting more than their fair share actually get more than any of us. That is true especially if we take into account tax breaks like mortgage interest deductions that are unavailable to those who do not own their own homes.  With all the competing interests keeping enough people happy to run a government is a challenge.

I can remember years ago people saying the problem with the Mid-East was that their governments were elected with the stated purpose of settling scores with the side that lost. At the time it was easy to think that America was better. It seemed that we could always come together and make tiny steps towards common goals that improved the lives of most people. 

The idea that politics should be about helping the majority has been lost in this new ugly world. Unfortunately our politics has gotten a lot more about settling scores than providing good governance. Some folks trace this trend back to Newt Gingrich who thought politics should be combat.  Wherever it came from, the idea that for me to win that you have to lose is destroying the civility that has held our society together at a lot of levels.

Our society has gotten to the point that many make fun of people who take governing seriously. We have people who want roles of authority but do not know how to carry out the responsibilities that come with those roles. The result is government that does not work. Many of the unwritten but widely accepted norms that helped governments be successful have dissolved. We have people in government for the sole reason of dismantling what the last government put in place. We have people willing to smear others and do whatever it takes to inflame passions so they can carry out their own very personal agenda.

On the national level, we have a president who refused to release his tax returns during the election. Releasing tax returns was a long-established custom.  Now the same president is proposing tax cuts.  We can only guess had how his tax reform would impact his taxes.  We also have to guess at why he continues to be soft on Russia. Is it because he has business deals or loans?  All this makes a mockery of transparent government.

It is not just a problem at a national level. I spent three years on the board of our HOA.  The third year after we took over from the management company, I ended up cleaning up the finances which meant making certain that everyone paid their fair share of dues.  When we stepped down, another group used some shady techniques during the election and took over the HOA with the single goal of doing away with equitable dues and making certain that a few people got a special deal.  They held meetings in secret and had to be forced to have open board meetings. They resigned after eight months and we got a lesson in democracy.

We got a new HOA but only after creating a special committee and signing a petition for a special election. Unfortunately they were only in office a few months before another group took over. We all had high hopes but four months into the fiscal year, the new group had provided us with no minutes and no open board meetings.  Somehow the norm of having a board meeting every other month or so and providing minutes had dissolved.  Questions to the board went unanswered and safety issues went unaddressed while the board focused on parties which ended up getting out of hand with no one ready to take full responsibility for what happened.

The first lesson that I have learned from all of this is that good government requires participation and constant vigilance. Sitting back and applauding actions that make you feel good without really understanding what is happening is not participation. Being happy at the expense of others will not work for long.

Open book government with lots of communication is a key part of the recipe for success. While not everyone will be happy with your decisions, if you treat everyone the same and involve as many people as possible in decisions, you are doing the best that you can. Secret hearings on a health care plan that impacts everyone are not the way to go. While secret hearings are far worse than closed board meetings with special guests, both are toxic and destroy the trust that is the foundation of good government.

All this has reinforced the lesson we had drummed into us at McCallie, where I went to high school.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

You do not quit because a few people are complaining. If you are doing the job you were elected to do correctly, you keep going. If you cannot commit to doing a job right and for the right reasons, think twice about about taking responsibility for others.

Once you take the helm, you need to do the job to the best of your ability and not throw up your hands if things get challenging. Seek out advice from those who successfully did the job before you and focus on those people whose trust you need to earn, not just a few who are seeking special favors or just along for the fun ride. If you make a mistake, take full responsibility and say you are sorry.  Involve as many people as possible and listen more than you talk. Do not exclude from government the very people whose expertise might make your government successful.

Government is messy and not easy but the alternative is far worse.

If this article made sense to you, you might appreciate my article, Cheerleading Enforcers.

 

 

 

You Cannot Ignore The Waves You Create

We live in a society where many people think they can say or do whatever they want even if it harms others.  They actually do not care since they have an agenda where they and perhaps a friend or two who refuse to see them in anything but a favorable light are the only ones who matter. 

While they might protest that they are doing things for the good of others, a close examination of their rhetoric and more importantly their actions leads only to the conclusion that whatever they are doing is designed to benefit or entertain themselves and everyone else can go to hell.

Almost all of us come in contact with these people who love to quote facts, rules, and precedents as long as they support their intended outcome.

Most of these folks tend to try to get their way by shouting louder than others, trying to control the opinions of others, and threatening or insulting those that do not agree with them.  If they are in government of any form, the last thing they want to do is to face the people whom they represent in a meeting.

Few of these folks are truly interested in a process that will actually solve a problem unless it resolves it in their favor.  They attempt to bully anyone involved in issues and end up looking like a toddler having a temper tantrum.

They are the self-proclaimed experts on everything and of course their way of looking at things is the only way to look at anything. True facts are just confusing.

I have spent a life standing up for what I believe whether it was equal funding for the education of children in rural New Brunswick or running an HOA by following the rules.

Over the years I have seen people threaten to do this or that if I did not do something.  Experience has taught me that you can only live your life to your own standards if you refuse to bend those core principles you have chosen for your life.  The only response to a threat is to stiffen your resolve.

What surprises me most is that so many of these scorched earth people who will do or say anything to get their own way, think that the horrible things they say and do have no impact.  They might attack your reputation one day and act like nothing has happened the next day. They are oblivious to the consequences of their actions and part of that is because people are afraid to stand up to them.

One of telling signs of these people who sow discord is accusing the very people trying to solve a problem of sowing discord.  It is their fall back position of choice. While oblivious to the discord they have created, they are quick to point fingers at those hoping to resolve issues.

Their inexcusable behavior creates waves of consequences that wash over us all.  Often we end up having to do things that we would never had done if we were dealing with normal people who care for people besides themselves.

It is long past time that we sentence people like this to life without real contact with the rest of us.  If society is going to survive, why do we coddle those that seek to destroy it?  Certainly we should stop electing them to any positions of authority.

If your agenda is to take advantage of the rest of us while you get your way,  why should you expect me to be so stupid as to help you do it?  It has never worked on me in the past and is unlikely to do so in the future so just save your threats for someone who has not seen it all before.

Remember if your role has responsibilities that effect me, count on me to hold you accountable if you do not fulfill those duties.