Mandates

 

Mandate: 

1 : an authoritative command especially : a formal order from a superior court or official to an inferior one
2 : an authorization to act given to a representative (e.g. accepted the mandate of the people)
(Source: Merriam-Webster)

As I look through the pictures of American citizens vandalizing our nation's capital, I find myself thinking about mandates and cults of personality. How did we get here? How is it that a country that prides itself on individualism can hysterically lose its mind as a group? How can we be one of the world's most advanced societies, yet so easily succumb to medieval behavior that borders on adolescent fantasy? How can anyone worship a man? Especially a cheat? A chump? A Trump?

Plenty of ink has been spilled by people far more qualified than me on what got us here. While those lessons hide in plain sight, my mind shifts forward to the work of adults that will be filling the seats of the Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branch for the next few years. Between World War II and 9/11, we had a pretty good run, but we're quickly turning into the United States of Short-Sightedness and burning the house down to get some likes on Instagram, show our bros we know how to take it the libs, or kowtow to lobbyists at the expense of public health and progress as a nation.

The primary losers in this vicious cycle of grievance politics is the American citizen. The huge, centrist, silent majority has probably absorbed about as much toxicity as it can, and it's time for the pendulum to spend some time in the center.

Here's the part that I'm struggling with, going back to George W. Bush's reelection of 2004 when he claimed he had a mandate to run with his agenda. His electoral college victory was 286 votes for John Kerry's 251. Compare this to LBJ (486-52) or Nixon (520-16) and you'll see what a mandate looks like. On the Democrat's side, every time a majority is eked out in Congress, Nancy Pelosi claims to have a mandate, and as a centrist that's voted in both directions over the years, I'd say she's off by about 50%; the people that didn't vote Democrat. 

Just because you say something over and over doesn't make it true.

My hope is that Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, and President Biden rise above the shenanigans of the last twenty-some odd years and start representing all Americans. I can't think of a better way to defuse the tensions that have built up to this point than to simply play fair and give each unique constituency their due. Here's a handy, non-polarizing list of items that we should probably discuss:

  • Farmers: What do you need in an immigration policy to make sure you have a stable workforce that doesn't live in fear of ICE?
  • Farmers: What can we do to back away from a trade war and sell your goods to China without costly subsidies to keep you afloat?
  • Americans: Why are we so obsessed with cheap salad and meat? Instead of perverting this critical market with migrant labor (artificially cheap), farm subsidies (but probably not enough or improperly distributed), and trade wars, why can't we ease the market back into functioning on its own?
  • States: If we can let food prices rise to their natural price point, can you subsidize your folks below the poverty line so they can eat healthy food?
  • Baby Boomers: Many of you have nothing saved for retirement. Instead of crushing the rest of the country with your care, can we get out in front of this problem now? I don't know how to fix this, but tent cities in sun-belt states won't cut it.
  • Immigration Hawks: Instead of sending soldiers to the borders and separating families, how about we create cohesive immigration reform that's logical, enforceable, and supports the progress and security of our country? I forgot- you want cheap salad, carpentry, and house cleaners.
  • Debt-Laden College Students: Can we create a program that can help people work off their dept without onerous interest? As a veteran who went to college with the G.I. Bill, I have zero sympathy for student loan forgiveness.
  • Department of Education: Can we shut off the cheap money tap that's created this monster of college tuition inflation? I thought two months salary for an engagement ring was complete bullshit, and now you're telling me that 6 years of salary isn't too much to ask for junior's college?

This list isn't exhaustive, but instead of the extreme left and the extreme right yelling at the rest of us to give them free stuff, let's ignore them for the next four years and focus on the act of governance. If we can try this for just a couple of years, the success and improved fairness may just pull these nut-jobs in from the cold and we can, um, make America great again?

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