Our country, but its establishment most significantly and pro?foundly, has been in?flicted with a stubborn and unfortunate refus?al to accept ideas which come from outside of the mainstream. Many such ideas are not radical, or even new, but merely do not come from the mouths of the right people. Overly cautious politicians, whose allegiances lie more greatly to power and party than country, have shied away from articulating complex and interest?ing ideas in favor of those which are most readily manipulated by rhetoric. And unfortunately this has proved the tactic best suited for continuous reelec?tions. These are the Hillary Clintons, the Barack Obamas and the Rudy Giulianis of our nation, the seemingly unstop?pable political juggernaughts who have captured the power to dictate the course of debate for themselves. This I believe to be of greater threat than any other. The massive oversim?plifications of any successful, modern political campaign do not translate well into decisions of policy and often repel voters delving into and scrutinizing the actions of their representatives. As a result, the task of politicking has become something more of a game than an nation-improving endeavor. It is accepted that manipulation of legal peculiarities and the public’s gen?eral lack of knowledge of such matters is somehow OK. It is accepted that poli?ticians will use effectively meaningless jargon to smear one another. It is ac?cepted that dialogue between major ri?vals is to be hollow and focused around only the few issues of the candidates’ choosing. And there may be no way to put an end to this without us having to endure major and unsettling events. How are we to otherwise cut through the dense web of corruption and self-interest spun by our representatives? It is in the hands of the dishonest and greedy that the power to create vi?tal and substantial changes lies. Are we to expect a culture of altruism to spon?taneously flourish upon Capitol Hill, in which those governing our nation sud?denly decide to relinquish their moun?tainous authority? We are not. It is only through a lively and energized public that we may re?fresh our flagging democracy. It is up to us, the civilian base of our nation to discuss, to yell and scream, to feel pas?sionately about the course of our great country. It is time for a new patriotism to arise, one which means allegiance to a country and its people in a way that does not require our supporting a bad government. The pen is indeed mighty, but it of?fers nothing if left broken and unused.
