The End of Politics
Politics is the art (I use that word hesitantly) of negotiation either through consensus or compromise. Even if something on healthcare is passed, it won’t have anything to do with negotiation, nor, I imagine, will anything else even though neither party holds a supermajority in the Senate. So what can we look forward to NOT happening this year? There will be no new legislation on banking reform, which we need desperately. There will be no energy legislation to help usher in renewable energies and limit greenhouse gases. There will be no action on education or immigration. How many other things don’t you want resolved this year? Remember, there is no one else to blame for the growing gridlock in Washington than you the voter.
Perhaps it’s not just here; the Israelis talk about peace with the Palestinians but then build more settlements. Our government says it condemns the construction but we are still standing by them. If we keep tolerating the Israelis foolishness, then there will never be peace in the Middle East. Cut off their aid for a year and see how the Israeli tune changes. But we won’t. Nothing will change.
Well, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have addressed a number of political and policy issues in this column, but no more. With the exception of a few ideas on education policy, I am giving up talking politics. There are many more interesting and fulfilling things in life to talk about than the folly of the latest batch of idiots and weasels.
Washing my hands of them, I can say that spring is finally here, after what seemed to be a real winter (I always have lamented the lack of distinct seasons). With more snow in one night than Charleston had seen in decades and enough cold weather to kill off a bunch of bugs, it is now time to pull the grill out of the garage, get a new canister of propane or bag of charcoal and usher in the best time of year in the Low Country! The yard has been cleared of the ton and a half of acorns and live oak detritus. Meanwhile, The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a milder than usual summer so look forward a year of backyard enjoyment. I can say that I have already welcomed spring in with a grill full of chicken and a day spent sailing out on the harbor.
In the spirit of spring, I look forward to embracing a new crop of ideas. West Ashley is a wonderful place to live, full of interesting things. So much so that I have lived here longer than anywhere else I have called home, and those places stretch from North Carolina to Seattle, New York to Louisiana (and a stint in Panama while in the army). Given my normal psychological bent I am mostly interested in the triumvirate of Art, that is literature, music and the plastic or fine arts, please note the story about the Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary School. Philosophy, culture, food, history and their intermingling will now fill this column instead of beating my head against the keyboard about politicians’ (please try to pronounce this word while reading as you would if you saw it crawling out of a steaming cesspool) idiocy.
I have been thinking about this decision for a number of weeks, trying to figure out what my obligation is to you the reader. I have tried to cover as much territory as possible in the past and look forward to expanding this area in the future. Given that I haven’t toed either of the parties’ lines, and that most of the emails I have received have been on those non-political articles, I can only imagine this is the best thing for both your enjoyment in reading and my creative enjoyment in writing. Perhaps it is a combination of the warmer temperatures, longer days, or leaving politics behind, but I already see a brainstorm on the horizon. Look forward to next week’s column as I discuss the difference between Burkian and Kantian notions of the sublime and why Kant was wrong.
