Getting Some Gumption?

Finally getting around to reading the paper today, I noticed that Bush's disapproval rating over his handling of the war in Iraq has reached it's lowest point yet. Isn't it interesting that now that there's been a shift in political power people are more willing to acknowledge that they don't support the president's policy?

I think it says a lot about the state our confidence in the president and his administration that many seemed to rubber-stamp his positions. The 'if you're not for us, you're against us - and a traitor to what it means to be an American to boot' tenor of this administration appears to have led to a tendency to not publicly admit to one's true feelings about the war and other policies.

Scary stuff! Reminiscent of McCarthy era politics and the way people either kept their traps shut or (worse) gave up others to the hysteria in order to save their own reputations and incomes. Some of it is human nature to protect oneself and one's family. It takes a special kind of bravery to stand against the crowd, especially when it might mean the loss of liberty or life.

With the shift in power, I wonder if there's a perception that permission has been given to go back to engaging in our First Amendment rights again. Is this a cyclical thing where every so often we back ourselves into a corner to remind ourselves of our responsibility to maintain the right to express our dissent? to call our leadership to account? to voice concerns and seek truths? to be willing to be on the 'wrong' side (from a public opinion perspective) of the important issues of our day in order to point to a greater truth?

The rampant partisan politics which control the way our government governs generally irritates the heck out of me. True statespersons operate in such a way that their goal is the betterment of all whose lives and livelihoods are under their authority, not just those of whichever political party they happen to belong to. There aren't many of that ilk in our government at the moment. However, if our two dominant political parties were cooperating in such a manner right now, I think I'd truly fear for our future.

As it stands, by virtue of the shift in legislative power between the branches, the balance has been more or less restored and the potential for rubber-stamp politics has diminished. I'm not naive enough to think that suddenly politics will lose its penchant for ethical breaches nor that both sides will be goaded into becoming statespersons. However, one can hope that more light will shine on the process and that true bipartisanship might occur (at least temporarily) in order to address the major issues of our political life in a responsible manner.

And maybe, just maybe, we'll all realize that we almost lost something truly precious, and begin to do everything in our power to make sure it cannot be taken away from us in any way, shape, or form. (Ok - being the optimist here but it could be that by finally expressing our true concerns, we've empowered the generations to take action and not let things get so close to the edge in our lifetimes!)