There is only one real reason, and then there are many good reasons

The dilemma for citizens is in figuring out the real reason.

In a world where media advocacy, internet news releases, political statements, biased reporting, propaganda, spinning, media masters, and 24/7 news cycles all merge the principle, it is even harder to discern. Even phrases such as “for the children” and “for the public good” and “death to the infidels” have been abused to become good reasons, not the real reason. Yes, even the war between civilization and barbarism has seen use of this principle of obfuscation.

It is distressing to me that this principle is used more often for so many political causes. It is more and more difficult and time consuming to filter the wheat from the chafe, that is, to determine the real reason for the political cause being suggested or sold to we voting citizens. Maybe I am wrong that the dilemma is worse now, than say the Civil War or pre-WWII timeframe. Yet I think it is because communications are more universal now than then, and thus subject to the aforementioned methods now more than then.

The abuse of the public policy forum is particularly distressing to me. The “forum’s” traditional purposes have been to decide health and sanitation issues, rural electrification, disease control such as malaria, flood and water control, postal service, public education, and promoting transportation for business and public use. Whatever these purposes may be for, they are certainly uniting purposes at the most basic human level. Now more political and divisive issues such as control of the radio media, protecting us from ourselves, control of illegal immigration, and universal health care have been rolled into this forum. But is this the real reason, or just a good reason? No I am not cynical, but also did not fall off the turnip truck yesterday.

I think most consider politicians to be necessary evils. I don’t personally know a better way to try run a nation-state, tribe, state, province, prefecture, or city. And I think most Americans hope for elected politicians, but don’t expect this at the world wide level. And most us expect politicians to use obfuscation as one of their working tools. Often this translates to plain lying, or promising one thing while doing another, or more recently setting lofty goals with no hope of achieving them or even setting enforcement provisions to get to these goals. And I don’t think many of us expect politicians to be knowledgeable in all the areas they assert control and policy making. Sad, but true. And I think most Americans expect part of a politician’s obfuscation method to be telling us good reasons, but seldom the real reason.

Along the way one thing about politics in America has changed, and recently, as in the last 50 years. There is more division between the parties that has focused on party first, and nation second. This is a nation killing malady if not excised. And there have been rancorous and crooked times in our nation’s past. Then, and now, the dilemma has been for voting citizens to figure out the real reason, not the good reasons offered up by politicians and unfortunately, much of the media today.

Any ambitious national party political operative will see the excising of the nation killing malady as another opportunity. The good reason we will hear is that “partisan politics must end”. The real reason is to gain another political advantage over the opposing party. What I mean is for us voters to end it.

Last, much has been said that the two national political parties have become versions of the same flavor. What these citizens say is that another national political party alternative is needed, and on the horizon. I personally don’t buy this argument. I think there are plenty of differences between the two national parties on the issues when I discern the real reason, not the good reasons on each issue.