Out with the old, reinventing U.S. politics

Aren’t you panicking? As the American economy crumbles, the world economy falters, crime rises and a communist, black Muslim leads us into a future of new austerity, it looks as if our (other) elected officials can do nothing but groan and hide.

Television personalities and bloggers have told us that those officials were elected to solve these problems quickly and in a way that the media could communicate, so the lack of forthcoming solutions is clearly an indication that the system is broken. These incumbent dimwits we’ve been bamboozled into electing must therefore be disposed of, and the system in which they have thrived must also be completely destroyed.

I blame our country’s founding fathers. Some of those otherwise great men made the decision to set up an inefficient government. They had the balls to think Americans would buckle under tyranny if one person or group gained too much power, so they established a state designed to ensure people and interests balanced with one another. Of course, these people also wanted decisions to be collectively made and approved, which ensures that it took (and takes) a really long time for controversial ones to become law. A government designed for gridlock; what’s up with that?

And don’t you think we haven’t been aware of the dangers of that gridlock until now? It took this country 90 years to abolish slavery because we kept insisting on giving those pro-slavery boneheads a “voice.” Their position was dumb, not to mention just plain wrong, but in America even the stupid and wrong have a role in the decision-making process. It infuriates me, though, and it should infuriate you too. The right course of action in politics is always clear, but since some people refuse to stop obstructing the flow of politics even when mistaken there ought to be a mechanism for silencing them. After all, if you agree with me only people who disagree with you will be frozen out of politics.

So, when you go to the voting booth this November, vote against every “in-dumb-ent” and career politician you find on the ballot. Only people with no experience in politics are free enough from special-interest influence to restructure our government with efficiency in mind. Only the political pups can begin to strip America of the wrongheaded yet age-old commitment to free debate and equal interest representation that’s hurt us so deeply for so long.

Andrew Hamner is a senior majoring in political science. He can be contacted at ahamner@themiamihurricane.com.