The main thing that you have to remember when you hear a politician speak is that 9 times out of 10 they don't actually believe the words that they're saying. They are beholden to their party, the powerful people and corporations that contribute to their campaign, and of course their constituents. Most of the time though, they are just exchanging rhetoric with the other side. They use a lot of hyperbole, and they stretch the truth until it breaks sometimes, but that's always been what politics was about.
Senators and Congressmen often appear to be on the wrong side of issues, but the thing about you have to understand about that is that they represent their particular states and districts, and if the biggest employer in your neck of the woods makes guns or alcohol or mines coal, you have a responsibility to the people that sent you to Washington to fight for those jobs and to bring money and employment to your towns. Those industries and corporations are keeping the pressure on too, so by the time you get those jobs, the pay rate and benefits will be considerably less than promised. All the time you're trying to balance what's good for your hometown population, the country, the environment, and the general population's welfare along with your reelection chances.
So you have people in government doing things that are questionable for what they sometimes feel is the greater good and self preservation, and it doesn't look like that, especially when it goes against something you feel strongly about.
Of course, there are just some politicians that are scumbags and bottom feeders, and don't give a crap about America, but it's really a lot less than you think. Most of the people that got into politics have at some point in their early careers wanted to change things. They had goals and aspirations, and truly want a life of public service. People and their ideals get corrupted, but who can honestly say that it never happened to them in their lifetime? Usually over something much less intense or complex than the national budget or gun control.
That is the fractured, dual life of a politician, and I can't say for a second how I would handle all that responsibility and pressure. I'm not saying to feel sorry for them, I'm just saying there are a lot of pressures and complicated issues at play that most people don't consider when they get on a rant.
That all said, here's the real problem with Trump and his cronies. He was never a politician. He never cared about anything but his bottom line and his own massive ego. He doesn't understand the first thing about public service or sacrifice for the better good. He doesn't want to learn either, he just wants to steamroll his way through everything like a petulant child, and when he doesn't get his way, he pouts and name calls.
He has surrounded himself with like minded people. People that only care about one part of any issue, and that part is making money, whether by loosening up regulations put in place to protect the environment or the economy or you and me. They want to raid the government coffers, they want to bleed every penny out of the working class, and starve the poor out of existence. They have no pity, no empathy, no sense of common decency. They are the decadent people of ancient Rome, fiddling while the country burns.
This is what you voted for. You put predators in charge, and you sit in your echo chamber while they pick you off, one by one. Your pension disappears, your medicare and social security dries up, your drinking water poisons you, and the air turns the lungs of your children black.
While this is going on, the politicians see their opportunity, and while the circus goes on they push their bills and resolutions through as the country is distracted. They know that this administration can't hold up. They know even now that it is dysfunctional beyond repair, but they remain non-committal and wait for the very last second to jump the sinking ship. That is what most skilled politicians do, gage the weather and figure out how long they can ride something out without getting tainted themselves.
Meanwhile, we sit and we don’t care to understand the issues, we can’t be bothered showing up to vote, and we can’t compromise or come to any consensus on anything. Then we complain that government has stalled. As much as we don’t want to admit it, we are at fault. All of us. We let our petty disagreements get in the way of progress, and that gives politicians and weasels all the ammunition and opportunity in the world to make sure nothing gets resolved. These people are used to working in turmoil, they thrive in it. They like when the herd is spooked, and there’s nothing but dust clouds and panic and the scent of blood fills the nostrils. Then they can start picking off the weak, and the feast is on.
Meanwhile, the average person is anxious, confused, and scared of vague dangers that might not even be real. So we surrender control, and we give up some of our freedoms, and the people that prey on us get a little fatter and we wonder why.
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