Eric's Politics Page
I am quite troubled by the political system in America.
An example of what concerns me is the phenomena of legislators voting along party lines. When this happens (and it seems to happen, to some degree, quite often), it reflects a sense of misplaced loyalty (i.e., loyalty to one's party as opposed to loyalty to one's constituents). This is a flawed paradigm for legislative decision making. There are only two valid paradigms for legislative decision making that I am aware of:
Every action should be what the legislator believes to be in the best net interest of their constituency (i.e., their state if a senator or their district if a congressperson)
Because legislation typically affects entities outside their constituency, every action should be what the legislator believes to be in the best net interest of the country as a whole (even if it may be adverse to the interests of their direct constituency)
Strong cases can be made for both approaches, so I wouldn't fault a legislator for using either approach, though I personally advocate the second approach, while looking out for the interests of the direct constituency by just making any perceived adverse effect of pending legislation on their direct constituency known to the legislative body so that it can be duly considered by other legislators who in turn need also to determine whether a particular legislation would represent a net positive or negative effect on the country as a whole.
It also concerns me that Americans tend to ascribe certain qualities to politicians as a direct result of their party affiliation. Would you vote for me if I told you that I was a Democrat? Many people would for that reason only. Would you vote for me if I told you that I was a Republican? Again, many people would for that reason only. Just because I label myself in a particular fashion doesn't mean that I think any particular way (and if it does mean that, then my decision making would tend to reflect the misplaced loyalty to party that I discuss above). Indeed, if I call myself an ostrich, does that make me any better or worse a decision maker than if I labeled myself as a Democrat or a Republican? I think not.
What our country needs is politicians who are not democratic, not republican, not liberal, not conservative, not right wing, left wing, middle wing, or any other wing. We don't need centrists, leftists, or rightists. It seems obvious that what we really need is politicians who are just plain smart objective, conscientious people. I urge all voters to use those as the standard against which to measure all individuals you consider voting for.
To send Eric an E-Mail, click here.
This page last updated 01/03/02
© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 Eric E. Haas