Whose fault is it?

As I read the news and listen to the pundits I am struck by the fact that the contending politicians are not trying to convince anyone of the value of their proposed policies.  Instead, they are busy warning everyone within hearing of what will happen if their policies are not adopted.  Unfortunately, this includes conservatives as well as liberals.  At this point in time we are spending far too much time beating the drum about the danger of continuing our drunken spending spree and not enough time talking about what we would do instead.  President Obama is just as bad when he demands that Congress pass his jobs bill immediately without debate or the economy will continue to go down the drain.  This, of course, sets the stage for another year of bickering and maneuver leading up to the 2012 presidential election.

In part, I blame the public's short attention span for this state of affairs.  If our political figures are forced to communicate in sound bites, it is much easier to cast aspersions than to outline policies designed to deal with inordinately complex issues.  (Paul Ryan is something of an exception to this situation with his extensive writings about the budget and intense speaking tour, but then he is not running for office.)  I am also critical of the folks in the media who could do a much better job of talking to the specifics of the various issues.  Instead they pretty much limit themselves to championing or attacking the latest sound bite.  We pretty much understand that Social Security is in trouble, but are far less clear on what we should do about it.  We understand that health care is too expensive, but we don't have many concrete suggestions about the best way to bring down costs and extend coverage in the future.  We know that our national infrastructure is crumbling, but we can't agree on the best way to pay for the rebuild and repair.  Etc., etc., etc.

And then there is foreign relations about which we don't talk much at all except to agree that war is unpleasant, expensive, inconvenient, and dangerous.  If we are liberal in our thinking, George Bush's Iraqi adventure was the cause of all of our international problems.  If we are conservative, Mr. Obama's half-hearted involvement in Libya is the perfect proof that he is not ready for prime time.  For most of America, international affairs is a foreign subject about which we think little.  This ignorance is just as dangerous to our future as is our avoidance of the economic realities that face us at home.  There are even a few politicians who espouse various forms of isolationism as a solution to all of our problems - domestic and foreign.

We blame our politicians for the situation that we are in as a nation, but it is not their fault.  We elected them.  Granted they can surprise us after they get into office, but basically they are a manifestation of the mood of the country at the time that they are elected.  I might rail at the president's stupidity, but he is in reality nothing more than the personification of us - the American public.  If we want a better America we are going to have to do more than just whine about how the place is going to hell in a hand basket.  We are going to have to dig in and make it this country that we want it to be.