How To Fix Congress

Americans of every caliber are disappointed and frustrated with their government. It may even be possible that at this time, Americans have lowered their opinion of Congress to an all time low. While no opinion poll would ever show a negative number, since mathematically you cannot have a percentage below zero on a favorable/unfavorable question; I think that Congress may have snuck in a bill somehow that suspended the laws of mathematics. This utter lack of confidence, respect and tolerance for Congress results from the public’s experience that Congress has become stuck in the quagmire of partisan politics rendering Congress incapable of and uninterested in serving the public interests.

While some members of Congress will acknowledge that the public doesn’t view them favorably, they immediately pivot to a sound bite that “the American people have rejected the policies and positions of the party.” They will often then claim that “the American people have sent them to Congress to change the way that Congress works”. What the American electorate hears is: “Ya-da, Ya-da, Ya-da”.

The root-cause of Congress’ problem is their blind focus on partisanship. The members of both parties have evolved through generation after generation of the electoral selection process to emerge as the inbred progeny of their different core constituencies. These enfeebled and degenerate specimens have reached a state where they can no longer function as individual agents that think independently, that have individual goals and plans, or that can relate to normal human beings outside their core constituencies. They are devoid of the ability to relate to others: no compassion or empathy, no ability to compromise, no sense of their responsibility to diverse opinions under their oath of office. They fail to garner the confidence and respect of the American people because they fail to serve the American people.

Now there are two practical ways to correct this problem. Congress could fix itself. Some small set of leaders (preferably some of each caste) could step forward and inform the rest of Congress that they were going to begin to act in the interest of the American people, and then in fact actually do it. Not only would these Congressional Lazarus-es reignite the concept of serving their nation; but they would be recognized as statesmen/women who in a time of national crisis chose to fight and to lead for the good of the Republic, for the defense of our Democracy. This is the best way and the right way, so it will not happen.

This leaves the other option. Enough of the American people who love country more than party, who prefer thought over slogan, and who have a preference for freedom over the totalitarianism of either party’s hierarchies’ ideology must elect non-partisans to Congress. I don’t mean Democrats or Republicans who claim to be non-partisan. I mean non-Democrats and non-Republicans. This option is the medical remedy that equates to the surgical removal of the diseased cancerous masses that threaten the life of the body politic for a healthy American society.

Given the tremendous obstacles that either option would have to overcome, there is little hope that American citizenry will achieve a path forward that will correct our Congressional dysfunction. It may well be that our two dominate parties will have to impair the country to such an extent that either a political uprising will surface from the tectonic shift when public opinion absolutely cannot tolerate Congress’ idiocy, or when a more radical revolution occurs because of the disparity between the powerful and the other 95% of Americans.

I have always been an optimist and hope for men and women of vision and principle to step forward during periods of chaos. One of my favorite movie quotes is: “In chaos there is opportunity!”