Far from being artificial and staged, political theater provides real-life insights into the best or, in this case, the worst of us.
One only needs look at the proceedings at our quizzical quadrennial quarrels, known also as presidential nominating conventions.
Despite the obvious scripted nature of these affairs, the human failings of organizers and participants alike can't be concealed.
What shines through brighter than the boring high-noon which exposes an inebriate's hangover, are the stereotypes and party lines. Excuse the pun, but it was intentional and it fits.
Republicans can't stomach giving hardworking/wealthy people's money away to undeserving/unfortunates. Democrats can't understand who wouldn't want to help/enable the needy/freeloaders.
Depending upon which verbs and adjectives you chose to complete the above sentences, your political leanings are clear.
Despite our rhetoric to the contrary, we can't escape from using simple and convenient conclusions about the other guy, group or political party. Heaven forbid that we actually listen to someone else's viewpoint. That would be too difficult.
We hear that this year's campaigns will be issue-based and refrain from personal attacks.
Wanna bet?
If you think we'll take the high road for this election, I got this fool proof system for picking winning Lotto numbers which I'll share for a reasonable fee.
There are just some things you can take to the bank. Men pursue women, it never rains when you carry an umbrella, the Chicago Cubs can't reach the playoffs, and folks hold fast to their beliefs. And people certainly aren't going to allow changes over the years and decades to disabuse them of their own realities.
Rich exploit poor. Poor distrust rich. Blacks hate whites. Whites hate blacks. Catholics hate Jews. The opponent is vile, despicable, and unworthy of my vote.
I, on the other hand, am OK. I'm sweetness and light and only raise my sisters' failings as a public service. I wouldn't bring it up otherwise because exposing others' weaknesses doesn't conform with the paragon of civility, which is I.
Sound familiar?
Republicans reach out for inclusion and Jesse Jackson reminds us that it must be an illusion because panning cameras showed a mostly white male audience. And that means only one thing: white males are constitutionally incapable of sincerely embracing inclusion and diversity. It couldn't be that the party welcomes like-minded folks of any ethnic stripe.
Democrats want people to credit them for a booming economy and keep them in power to add to an already historic period of prosperity. Yet Republicans can't concede any Administration role in the process. They must either ascribe it to dumb luck or the delayed reaction from Reaganomics which built a back-breaking National Debt that seems to be disappearing almost as quickly.
The hard truth is that both Republican and Democratic policies are equally flawed and exquisite. No one party has cornered the market on either enlightenment or abject meanness. Success results only when both parties can patiently and cooperatively thrash out the detailed intricacies of public policy.
The way this happens is through leadership, verve, and charisma. He, or she, who can best bring people to the table, share a clear vision, and exhort them to implement it, is the one best able to lead. Give the devil his due. Bill Clinton had that savoir-faire, or presidential air, that allowed him to connect this way.
That's why leaders like John Kennedy (man on moon) and George Bush (Desert Storm) receive high leadership marks from historians and analysts. The former motivated us domestically to do the impossible. The latter built an improbable coalition among nations to allow military action against Saddam Hussein.
Our challenge is not how to smear one candidate or another. It is to stop, look, and listen to what Gore and Bush (and even Buchanan and Nader) are saying, how they comport themselves, and judge whether people should follow.
If we do that, we'll pick the person best able to be president, preserve and enhance national unity which is great because of our diversity, and ensure the common good rather than the merely common.
We can rise above predictable partisan politics.
Wanna bet?
++++
Fred W. Apelquist, III, M.Ed.
Approximately 690 words.
(C) 2000