Too many of in the political class are insulated from the harsh realities of the rest of us living in flyover country. To them Washington DC is reality and the rest if the nation is merely someplace they read about in the Washington Post or New York Times. It's as if there is an alternate reality curtain that surrounds Washington DC and once people cross through that curtain they become disconnected from the reality of the rest of the nation. That can certainly be seen with one of the more recent events the political class thought was of the utmost importance. The rest of us had more important things to worry about.
One big reality check came earlier this year over a very modest trimming of the budget known as the sequester. In D.C., many expected the American people would rise up in revolt when the so-called “cuts” took effect. Instead, no one noticed. Outside of those who work for the government, there was hardly any impact.Somehow the political class thought an $85 billion cut in federal spending would have a major effect on the rest of us. But the rest of us thought “It's a good start, but it's not enough.” They totally misread the mood of those of us outside the Beltway. But wait! There's more!
For those in power, that was a terrible glimpse into the reality of how irrelevant much of what they do has become. For most Americans, it was a baby step in the right direction.
For those in power, that was a terrible glimpse into the reality of how irrelevant much of what they do has become. For most Americans, it was a baby step in the right direction.We are turning back to some of the ways we used to solve problems before government got involved. One thing that has made it possible is Internet and everything it brings with it, including social networking and crowdsourcing, two forces that have started to change how we do things and how we interact with each other. (A caveat: Like anything in our lives, there are downsides to these two related phenomena. It comes down to the old aphorism about “all things in moderation.” And so it will be with them.)
The notion that problems can be solved outside of Washington is the last thing politicians want to hear. But it’s the path our nation is following.
If government, and particularly big government isn't getting things done or is doing it poorly or incorrectly, it is up to us to set things right. We don't have to wait for government to do it. We shouldn't wait for government to do it because we can do it better, faster, cheaper (meaning we don't have to take other people's money away from them in order to do it), and do it right the first time. I'm not saying that government shouldn't do anything, but I am saying that the time of thinking it has all the answers, is wiser than the rest of us, and can solve all our problems has passed. Now it's merely a matter of showing the political class that they have to stop thinking that way and we just might become an even greater nation than we have been before. Let government take care of the things it is better suited for, like defense, foreign affairs, and so on. Let us take care of the rest because we know what we need to do, what we need to have, and the political class doesn't. We also understand that one-size-fits-all solutions do not work and never have. The needs in one part of the nation are entirely different from needs in another part and require different solutions. (A quick example: Requiring use of low flush toilets and water saving technologies in areas where lack of water has never been a problem. That may help in places where water is in short supply like the arid Southwest, but makes no sense in places where just the opposite conditions exist, like New England. It's a one-size-fits-all solution that should apply only to those areas that need it.)
It's time for the political class to wake up and realize that they aren't as important as they thought they were. We can get along just fine without them should the need arise.