It’s that special time again, when we have the opportunity to reflect, to rank the past 365 days against all those that came before. For some people, 2010 was a year they would rather forget. Often people will make resolutions for the new year: plans to start a new diet, to get more exercise, to be a better person. Politicians, believe it or not, are people too.
Here are some resolutions they should aspire to.
1) End the partisan bickering. It’s getting old. It’s dividing people who are not that different from each other. In the United States we are blessed (or cursed) with a relatively narrow political spectrum. We don’t have communists and fascists seated alongside each other in our government. Our elected officials, without exception, occupy a very small region ideologically, which is somewhere between center and center-left. Stop trying to excite the electorate by magnifying the slim divides between parties. Excite the electorate through the commonalities we all share and work within those shared interests to get things done.
2) No more television shows. If you have to have one, at least don’t have it on TLC alongside “Toddlers & Tiaras” and “The Half Ton Man.”
3) Stop the sex scandals. I’m not a firm believer in the “personal is political” argument. I think John Edwards, while on the one hand a scumbag, is probably a decent enough politician, except that he was a sort of a nerd and suddenly found himself in a position where he could score easily (Tiger Woods, anyone?). It’s just getting disgusting. I don’t want to hear about elderly politicians and their capacity to grope.
4) Leave all forms of Wicca and witchcraft to Harry Potter and his cohorts at Hogwarts.
Members of the Tea Party: If you want to be defined as some sort of actual movement, bring something fresh to the table. As of right now, all you do is harp on taxation, which has been the mainstay of the conservative elite for years. With the surprising amount of media coverage the Tea Party gets (which is actually not that surprising when we think of who owns the media behemoths), they could bring attention to new issues. Instead, they dance around a variety of topics with the unifying focus of halting government spending and seeing President Obama as the Antichrist. Yawn.
5) Speaking of President Obama, here’s a specific resolution: Keep on keepin’ on. After a year that saw your approval ratings plummet, critics from your own party coming out of the woodwork and questioning your ability to lead, and devastating mid-term election results, things are beginning to turn. You were elected in a period of what will be a defining moment in our nation’s history. Two uncertain wars, a broken economic system and a disgruntled populace were laid in your lap. Through it all, you have remained calm and collected, refusing to succumb to the bitter partisan politicking that has consumed our government.
You have begun to withdraw troops from a region we never should have been involved with and sent them where they were needed. You signed the law repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Jobs are being recovered faster than expected, people went shopping during the holidays, and the recession, at least according to economists, is finally over. After all of the critics attacked you for bailing out Wall Street for compromising too much and for not doing enough for job growth, the results of your labors are now being realized.
You have created tangible results for everyday people through health care reform, gay rights and educational reform.
You may have guided our nation through its most tumultuous period since the Great Depression.
This isn’t to say that from here on out things are set. Far from it, in fact.
The national debt continues to rise every second. Brave men and women are still fighting overseas in a war that, for most people, has lost any meaning. Unemployment rates are still too high; freak storms most likely caused by environmental degradation are killing and leaving thousands homeless; and one in four U.S. children continues to wonder if there will be food on the table.
So perhaps the most important and realistic goal, not just for politicians, but for every American, is to make 2011 a better year than 2010. Donate some money to a just cause. Turn the lights out in your house before you leave. Walk to work or class instead of driving. Try and see things from another’s point of view, even if you initially disagree. You may be surprised what you can learn through civilized discourse. Be a good friend and love your family. Take up a new hobby. Exercise more regularly. Work extra hard on something, and even if you fall short of your goal, at least you know you gave it all you had.
The great thing about life is that with every new day comes a chance for improvement. New Year’s is the day we have chosen as the symbol for this rejuvenation. Wipe your hands clean of 2010. Get them dirty in 2011.
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Tellam: Politicians, try a few New Year’s resolutions
Daily Emerald
January 3, 2011
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