Confabulation is a neuropsychological disorder in which the patient suggests (and defends against reasonable evidence) an account of reality which is patently false: for example that their hospital ward is actually a hotel, or that their husband is an imposter. (Courtesy of Oliver Turnbull at http://staff.psychology.bangor.ac.uk/Members/pss40d/Confab)
Politics as usual.
Does anyone else get tired of hearing that? Today, we're getting greeted with a list of political opinions about what today's election means. It's a referendum on Obama. It's not a referendum on Obama. It's a shift in the Republic party. It's not a shift in the Republican party. The 23rd congressional district election in New York will predict everything. Now, having lived in that area for a significant portion of my past life, I assure you if cows had the vote they'd have the greatest numbers in a potential voting block. Democrats are losing ground in preparation to a huge turnover in 2010. No, these elections don't predict anything. It all depends on what talking head is at the microphone. It will, of course, all change in interpretation as soon as the polls close. Frankly, very little of it makes any real sense.
The political scheme that's been developing over my lifetime is really rather depressing. Parties and platforms and parts of government are so mixed up in a media blender that no one knows where to point the finger except at everyone else. I, probably like many folks, wish we could throw out the whole bunch and start over. That, of course, won't really work either. There are probably people actually doing what they're supposed to do. We just don't hear about them.
I think the problem actually lies less in the representatives we elect and more in the highly irrational way that we elect them. Red, blue and purple? Are we talking Easter eggs or ideologies? Why do we vote by color? Admit it, sometimes you've probably just voted "the party line" because of some vague, ephemeral belief in the ideological system that a color represents.
We need to return to basics. And when I mean basics, I'm not talking about family values or reproductive rights or religious freedom or any of those rhetorical artifices. I think we need to return to basic civics lessons that run constantly along the campaign ads, the media coverage and the punditry. What kinds of civics lessons? How about some of the following:
There are three branches of government. They have different functions and operate in a planned checks and balances system. The legislative branch passes laws, the executive branch -- I know it seems weird -- executes them and the judicial branch monitors that process. Each of the branches has fingers in all of the other branches to supposedly keep them honest. A President can promise legislation -- but can't possibly do anything but arm-twisting and vote-wrangling to actually get a law passed. See: lobby. The legislative branch can be stopped cold by a Veto, and either can be stopped by the Supreme Court. Justices are nominated by the President when one decides to step down (which makes the Supreme Court one of the most-watched hospices on the planet). The Senate then confirms this choice. There's this amazing document that talks about this stuff. Gold star if you can guess what it is.
There are levels of government. There's the federal government, state governments and local governments in all of their various forms. Therefore, a gubernatorial race has absolutely nothing to do with the federal government -- unless we pretend otherwise. The federal government and state governments have checks and balances on each other -- I believe we had a civil war over just that issue. People could like "Republican" comptrollers and "Democratic" state representatives and maybe even vote in an "Independent" for the U.S. Senate.
We are a representative democracy. This means that we -- get this -- vote for people to represent our interests in the various levels and branches of government. Once we've done that, there are only a few options available (all of which are incredibly cumbersome) to keep them from voting or acting in any way that they please until they get caught in something illegal or not re-elected the next time. So if you vote in an idiot, you're stuck being represented by an idiot until the next election. Even their own "party" can't tell them explicitly how to vote, though through earmarks and other arm-twisting exercises they can make their displeasure with the nonconformist known.
The previous civics lesson is the reality: three branches, three levels in a representative democracy framework. The funny thing is that folks in other countries know more about our political process than we do as a general population. Education about our own government probably be the best -- and most effectively fundamental change -- in the political process in the United States. It at least would tell us who to get annoyed with legitimately. We need to take personal responsibility for our representatives -- we put them there.
I can feel you bristling. "I didn't vote for them!" Well, perhaps not, but did you campaign for them inadvertently? Did you go door-to-door or by any mechanism educate the other voters around you about the process? Did you fight for coverage of the issues involved? Did you watch the debates? Did you read the platforms and separate the empty promises from the potential gains? Were you involved enough, meeting your civic responsibility enough, to have a clear dialogue collectively about our representatives or did you pull the lever and hope for the best?
Admit it. You more actively interact with your Wii than with your voting booth.
So confabulation: defending an account of reality that is patently false. The only treatment: get a grip on reality.
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