The concept of "rejecting politics as usual" is, in fact, politics as usual. But this is the meme that opponents of this corrupt, singly money minded administration need to take on. And that is that the calamity of New Orleans lays bare the terrifying underbelly of 20th century America. Perhaps the 21st Century showed its face on September 11, 2001, but it dove into our national awareness for the first time last week.
We live in a "democracy" but clearly there is a problem. As I see it, the time is ripe for a new politics which recognizes the seriousness of the issues that face us and that decisions can and do have deadly consequences.
The new politics must:
- Reject one-liners as a political rallying cry. New Orleans shows that the issues facing us are far more complex than one-liners. We have known this for some time, but there is now proof that the catch phrase is not only insufficient but potentially deadly.
- Embrace honesty, forthrightness, core beliefs. New Orleans shows that this nation cannot just get by. Glib, on the surface, leadership kills.
- Be passionate and devoted. These are life and death matters we deal with. Yes, September 11th showed this as well. But there, the enemy sought us out and attacked us. Here, the ONLY enemy is ourselves. We must be self-reflective. Devoted to solving America's problems. We must be passionate about every American and not selected groups of supporters.
- Be unifying. National leaders cannot lead their select constiuents. For too long, we've been picking and choosing. Nixon's "Southern Strategy." Blue states and Red states. Obama had it right at the Democratic Convention in Boston, but his time had not yet come. Divisiveness kills. The New Orleaneans dying in the convention center are blue voters, in a blue city, in a red state. But they are all dying Americans. National leadership is responsible for the entire community and therefore every single life in this nation.
- Not kow tow to monied interests. Money is important. Always will be. But the crass money-driven messages of the past must be left to the trash heap of history. Politicians can no longer cater to their monied constituencies. Failure of focus on even the poorest among us is deadly. It's not -- well, the term's only four years long -- it's -- how many are we willing to lose to political inexpediency this term.
- Be aware that national decisions have national consequences. We all know about the pork in the recent Highways Bill. How much of that federal money was spent for things that people need to live their lives safely, securely, and prosperously? I don't care where the politicians are from. They need to think nationally. As the world gets smaller, so does the nation. I live more than 1,000 miles away from New Orleans, but TV, the net etc. bring it to my backyard. We are a community -- like it or not.
There's so much more. But I can't go on. This event has simply thrown everything on its head. If there is a ray of hope, it's that the worst about America has finally shown itself for what it is and now there's a chance that we can improve ourselves in our lifetimes.