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But, my brain never stops, and a new thought has recently popped into my head on how to make American politics change a bit for the better. My solution for the shortsighted radical, polarizing shifts in political thinking that often take place on a whim? Longer terms for all politicians. I think Presidents should be given a 25 year term, one that they are forced to serve, no stepping down when your party is in firm control, and no unelected Gerald Fords either. A death in the office means a new election with another 25 year term on the line. Similarly, Senators and House members could get twenty year terms. Why 25 years? There's plenty of good reasons. It would make old men who run for office obsolete. If the Constitution says you've got to be 35 to be President, it only makes sense there should be an age limit as well. A 70 year old man would think twice about running for President if he's got to serve to the ripe old age of 95. I have little faith in elders to stay in touch with the world. It's time to end the charade that Saul is wiser than David. Kids make plenty of mistakes, but I'd rather my generation be responsible for fucking shit up than having a generation that could care less about the future screw things up worse than things already are. Twenty-five years sounds like a long time, but really, that would give most Americans three Presidents in their lives. It would also give each President time to look at issues with more common sense and a longer view instead of trying to make decisions on the most recent polls and reelection hopes. Obama's predicament makes a great example - voted into office during one of the worst and most uncertain worldwide financial disasters, left holding the bag for two American wars, and a country radically divided by race, religion, tea choices, and grassroots political movements, things were a mess. So he decided to push through a half assed health care bill that both sides aren't happy with, and still is dealing with wars and the recession, but how do those polls look for 2012? What if he was afforded some time to change the banking structure, put in oversights and actually fix the issue instead of tossing trillions of dollars to men in suits while stupid people made bad jokes about where their handout was? Imagine politicians having the luxury of time to decide and actually debate larger issues and find compromises using the ingenuity of both parties to move things to a better place? Faced with longer terms all around, the possibilities of a new, working bi-partisanship taking root would be far more realistic than any third, fourth or fifth party making a dent in the two party system that has a stranglehold on Washington now. Politicians, faced with the fact/fear that they'll be looking at the same faces for their entire terms would be forced to work in different ways. Again, without having to lie and campaign on whatever empty promises currently get people elected (lower taxes, better education, no abortions, lots of abortions, etc.) could actually affect some change and develop compromised policies that take good ideas from both parties and build some long term solutions for the country. Wars would be fought under one presidency, not started by one and handed off like a hot potato with a nice note saying, 'Did my best, good luck!' This long term sensibility built into the new voting cycle would temper cable and network news' penchant for being the most reactionary, ratings driven pit of retardation in the universe. Talk radio wouldn't be so fervent, and perhaps the lost art of conversation could replace yelling and partisan chanting between two groups guaranteed never to be right. Just because some nerd invented twitter and decided 140 characters was enough space to shout endlessly into cyberspace doesn't mean national debate needs to be resolved in one news cycle. Time is our friend, not twitter. Voting in America would take on a new relevance, gerrymandered districts would go the way of the dodo, as populations would shift, grow and decline in a twenty five year span. Today's slum is tomorrow's gentrified playground which is tomorrow's yuppie hangout. For all the accolades about high voter turnout during the 2008 election, just 56% of the country voted. This number would most likely be higher if voting was held once every couple of decades. And the all important youth vote that pushed Obama into office? Just 49-54% actually turned out as well, meaning old people still turned out in larger numbers than the people who would be getting screwed the most by another president. Another benefit of less elections would be less influence during the campaigns from corporations, PACs and most of the dirty money. The way America's fickle appreciation for incumbents is going, our turnover rate between Republican/Democrat and vice versa spending the first years of their terms undoing all the work of the previous administration will soon begin to rival Italy's propensity for a new government every 18 months or so. All this does is limit our vision and keep us mired in the same muck, fighting the same fights and yielding the same old results time after time. Looking back at history, even FDR was only in office for 12 years, so we'd be in completely new territory here, but I say there's nothing to worry about. Sure, most people reading this (if they've stuck to it this far) are fuming over the prospects of having another 15 years of George W. Bush in office. To them, I'd say let's look at this rationally. First thing, we survived eight years of perhaps one of the most inept and comically bad leaders of our country's history. People still have abortions, gays aren't crucified, and the Supreme Court still operates just like it always had. Sure, we lost a few thousand office workers, policemen and firemen, and a few thousand more soldiers in two wars that cranked up the deficit, but we're still here! That's what people keep forgetting - the world continues to spin - the sun continues to rise. The most overlooked feature of politics is comedy, and this plan could possibly spotlight comedy much more than it ever will be today. What if George W. Bush had 25 years to do his job? Would he have faked charts, photos and intelligence to invade Iraq so soon? What if Bush and Saddam did some creative interpretative diplomatic dance for four or five years that would mirror the best episode of your favorite stupid reality TV show? Imagine just how surreal a speech of his in front of the UN General Assembly would be in 2021. Going back further, look at what we missed by booting the Clintons out of office after eight years. How many impeachment trials could he have won? If the Simpsons can stay on TV for 20 years, shouldn't we offer the same opportunity to our elected leaders? Nixon wouldn't have needed to wiretap Watergate, and just think of how many hilarious recordings his Presidential Library missed out on. People who don't laugh or understand comedy have little minds, so I would understand if there was a groundswell of no support for this idea. My belief about American politics is that America gets what it deserves, and deserves what it gets, which made Bush's presidency the impossible one to top in my mind. Sometimes you should try to aim a little higher, and sometimes you'll completely fail when you do (Obama, oh hope you change), but like any good American, you'll pick yourself up by the bootstraps and try harder next time.
The American Dream isn't dead, it just needs a good old kick from fascism to get it moving again. |
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RECENT & UPCOMING SHOWS: SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 FALL, 2011
WINTER, 2011 |
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TALES OF SCHLIEFKEVISION: |
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