As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand - Essay Example

As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand? Polarization has become a severe problem in the United s. Silver discusses the concept of swing districts becoming less common and that the division between what should be termed the fanatical conservatives and the rest of the nation has become a gap the size of the Grand Canyon. Partisanship has overwhelmed the idea of voting one’s conscious, seeking to instead use competition against the other party until its death. The extreme right has been campaigning to stamp out humanitarian and progressive thought in order to put forward their other agenda – total corporatism in government. Although they use the fanatical right as a way of gaining the support of people who are not within the upper 1% in wealth in the nation, the Republican Party still stands on its original platform of less regulation and more freedoms and rights for corporations. This is in direct conflict with the needs of workers, but workers have flocked to the Republican Party due to fear of losing the rights they have or in support of radical ideas about the world concerning religion, guns, or abortion. This is corporate greed at its worst. What has happened as a consequence is that the irrational and unreasonable now have a voice and official support. Silver is placing the consequences of such hard-lined campaigning for ‘sides’ into context in order to show that people are becoming more about their political party than about the issues due to the polarization. Silver suggests that the Republican Party has now created a sort of vacuum in which they now must continue their fanaticism in order to maintain those they convinced to join them. Instead of being able to come closer to the middle, in order to keep those they convinced to join they are stuck well over to the right. Silver writes that “The district boundaries that give Republicans such strength in the House may also impede the party’s ability to compromise, reducing their ability to appeal to the broader-based coalitions of voters so as to maximize their chances of winning Senate and presidential races” (n.p.). What this seems to imply is that through compromising what is rational and reasonable in order to get votes, they have cornered themselves so that they must continue this course in order to continue to hold their positions. The Republican Party remade itself to be the party of the people through giving voice to radicalized beliefs. Now they are stuck with it. The Story of Stuff “The Story of Stuff” shows how little control consumers have in what they buy and what they are exposed to from their stuff. It also shows the blatant manipulation that all consumers experience. Most consumers know they are being manipulated, but still play into consuming more and more goods. The need to consume resources and then throw them away, according to the video, was designed. What does that mean for American society? It seems that it started with 19th century colonialism where one state felt they had the right to ‘claim’ another state and consume its resources. It could go back to the time of exploration where lands such as the Americas were claimed for Spain or England, but those times still allowed for the natural consumption of resources. Although, the destruction of buffalo for their hides by those European Ancestors who sought to claim the American West who then left the meat to rot in large fields of blood might be seen as one of the beginnings of this problem. The European American habit of conquering and stripping a land from its indigenous people, leaving them without the means to sustain their cultures as they once were is at the heart of this problem, and it began with those who claimed the right to colonialism. According to the video, Americans literally consumer 99% of what they buy which will be disposed of by the end of its first year of use. This is literal consumption. Every week as the trash is thrown out is seems that there are more and more quantities of packaging, boxes, and packing that goes into the trash. The bigger things do break very quickly. I have always believed that computers have a timer that goes off after two years and makes them start to break down so you will be forced to buy a new one. Televisions used to be used for decades before they were sent to the basement and replaced with a new set. It is doubtful that today’s technology would last that long. That this is a design for consumerism is sad and says much about this world. Revenge of the Reality Based Community True conservatism is honorable. Although many of the concepts in true conservatism are against the rights of workers or of the common person, essentially it has a true, academic vision that bases its beliefs on reasonable concepts. Conservatism is misguided to the right the way that liberalism can be misguided to the left. However, a true Republican represents his or her interests as a monetary power in the United States and supports de-regulation because he or she believes that it is the best thing to do. They support a corporate run government that sees only a bigger picture and allows the system to work with casualties because that is what makes the system work in a capitalist system. Bartlett speaks about true conservatism and how wrong the Republican Party has gone off course. The Bush administration ran off supporting social policies that were in conflict with conservatism as a way to gain votes. Bartlett seems to consider his views through reason. Rather than Republicans like Ann Coulter who spins the world to create whatever happy wild tune she wants, Bartlett looks at the facts and makes assessments based on reality. He even goes so far as to show that President Obama is not the wild liberal that most Republican’s tend to claim, but that his policies tend to be center and slightly to the right. Democrats have often seen President Obama as a bit of a disappointment for these policies, but Republicans still want to fight him at every turn, making him into a Socialist and calling him one of the most liberal Presidents in history. I am fairly sure that drone assassinations would not be considered liberal in anyone’s definition. Bartlett discusses how because he chooses to not play into the madness of his party, he has all but been disavowed by them. He shows that his friends in the party were condescending because he had an article in the New York Times. They felt that reading it meant one was going along with left wing politics, let alone having an article published in it. It is interesting that not only is this a world where people are acting partisan in their personal politics, but now news organizations are given party designations. Take the Money and Run for Office One of the problems with the way in which society has been constructed is that the truth of life is shadowed by the ideals of life. In other words, asking for money is considered in poor taste, but money is how life is supported. As an example, an artist who admittedly does work in order to earn money that they may not want to do is ‘selling out’. The point is that needing money should not be considered in poor taste because society has been constructed on the basis for the need for money. The problems that come to light in relationship to politicians looking for money is that instead of raising money, they should be spending all of their elected time working for the people. Is this the politician’s fault? No, it is the problem of the people who have expectations of politicians putting on a show for them in order to get elected. Fund raising is how the political system works. One would wish it was based on academics that lead to good policy, but this is not how it works. It would be ideal if each candidate had a book written that outlined what they wanted from their term in office, what their expectations are for the future, and the exact policies on which they have decided to work towards. The books would be free and people would be able to choose their candidates from their research. Unfortunately, politicians must be branded, put on display through advertisements, and made into a product to sell to the people. It is sad that so much time is spent on raising funds. They should not have to spend time doing that when so many problems exist in the country that needs attention from our leaders. Walt Minnik discusses how it is distasteful and that he has had to not only call strangers, but his friends and family who tire of having to give (This American Life). Why should politicians be doing so much that is not considered leadership? College, Inc. Michael Clifford never went to college so he does not understand the nature of education. He buys colleges and then makes them into universities that are accessible and many are online. While online colleges give students higher educational experiences, the question is whether or not it is the same as physical universities? Clifford’s schools are for profit, so what stops them from being biased for or against certain types of influences that will shape ideas about life? There is no doubt that the economy has an influence on the nature of higher education. People can no longer get good jobs without a college education. The economy, as the video College, Inc. shows, requires a higher education in order to have a job that will support individuals. The biggest question that this video brings up is whether or not mass producing education demeans the nature of a university degree? Being in a university means that life is being shaped for the future. It is where academic pursuit should be the focus, not getting jobs. Getting a job should be the collateral of getting an education, but not the goal. Unfortunately, the pursuit of knowledge is not the primary focus for most students. In reflecting on the information that was provided in the video, I began to wonder if there should not be a way to separate types of higher education. I realize that it would lead to further class separation. Grand Canyon is an impressive example, as it is shown in the video. Most students are online, but maybe that opportunity is important for creating a more educated public. Maybe the cost of having more people educated is to diminish some of the value of a college education. The concept of calling it fast food education is not inaccurate, but whether or not that is a bad thing is a good question that cannot be answered easily. Creating more people with good educations is a good thing no matter what the actual costs. Although there is a fear that the education does not have the same meaning as a traditional school, more educated people still means a more educated public. Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math The facts seem to be disputable in this new world where science is considered ‘elitism’ and rather than take care of God’s earth, there is often a call to just leave it in His hands. The most important fact that McKibben shows is that “A third of summer sea ice in the Arctic is gone, the oceans are 30 percent more acidic, and since warm air holds more water vapor than cold, the atmosphere over the oceans is a shocking five percent wetter, loading the dice for devastating flood”, but even that is in parenthesis and some people will miss it as they skim the article that he wrote for Rolling Stone (n.p.). In some ways, even articles that support the problem of climate change fail to point out the worst of its effects. In an effort to convince readers that it is real it forgets that solid facts are the best way to discuss the subject. When the flood comes, it will be a surprise, a shock, and people will wonder how this type of disaster could possibly befall them. When Hurricane Katrina hit, people were surprised that the levies were breached, but it was known that they were not rated for a category five hurricane. What is known does not seem to connect with the ways in which it can be fixed. Prevention does not seem to be a part of the way in which the leaders of the world think. However, it is not the fault of the leaders, but of the masses that refuse to insist on leadership that has real value rather than pandering, confused leadership that has no focus. A government of the people has not supported a focused effort towards a better life, but has been stagnant and without motion since the space program. The saddest news of all is that in Copenhagen where a conference was held that was hoped to define real solutions, the only thing they could do was agree that the limit to temperature increase is two degrees – which will result in deep losses on continents such as Africa. Well, we do not really need Africa, right? It is amazing that something as serious as the loss of parts of a continent is okay in order to create compromises on global climate issues. Inside Obama’s Presidency One of the most important points that Frank Lutz made in the film “Inside Obama’s Presidency” was that the Republican Party was struggling on how to be relevant. The worst decisions that they made was to try to defeat President Obama on everything that he wanted to do. This was not done for the health of the nation, but for the health of the Republican Party. The consequences were dire. They did everything from accusing him of not being a natural decision to being a Socialist on his policies. My reflection on this is to wonder what happened to serving and representing the people. President Obama’s first goal was to work with the Republicans. Even though he reached out to the Republicans through his 800 billion stimulus package, they were not willing to work with him. They were more interested in creating a wide division between the right and the left. The problem with having such opposition is that it is contrary to what is best for the nation. In the film, President Obama went to the Republican leadership which was an unusual move. However, they did not work with him. The stimulus bill passed only because the Democrats were in power. The President ran on the idea of change, but change needs cooperation and willingness. It is a crime against the American people that the representatives that they depend on are not working together. The abuse by corporations of his stimulus package may be a reason that Obama retreated to a certain extent and just started working. My feeling on what occurred was that President Obama started working and stopped trying to play to the public. That is the perception that I have of his Presidency. I have respect for someone who makes mistakes, but still works to do the best for the people instead of just appearing to do the best in front of them. The one thing that is strange about President Obama is that while he has pursued humanitarian goals, he has also been the leader who supports assassination drones. The healthcare bill that was adopted is not perfect, but for the first time in history there is a healthcare policy that is intended to address the problems of the population of the United States, rather than just a segment of the populace. Finally there is recognition that all people have a right to access to healthcare. However, President Obama has had a strong presence in defense issues. His participation in world military issues has been successful, but surprising to liberals. Whether or not his methods are wise will be left to history, but Osama bin Laden is dead and the nature of the war is changing. Works Cited Bartlett, Bruce. “Revenge of the Reality Based Community”. The American Conservative. 26 November 2012. Web. 2 June 2013. Frontline. “College, Inc.” Spring 2010. Web. 2 June 2013. Frontline. “Inside Obama’s Presidency” 15 January 2013. Web. 2 June 2013. Leonard, Annie. “The Story of Stuff”. Youtube. 22 April 2009. Web. 2 June 2013. McKibben, Bill. “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math”. Rolling Stone Politics. 19 July 2011. Web. 2 June 2013. Silver, Nate. “As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand?” New York Times Blogs. 27 December 2012. Web. 2 June 2013. This American Life. “Take the Money and Run for Office”. WBEZ. 30 March 2012. Web. 2 June 2013. Read More