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How on earth anyone can actually look up to and be inspired by these monkeys, is really beyond me.



Well Bedouin, the problem is that they are the ones we have chosen to lead. It doesn't mean they are smart, well informed, correct in their judgment or even honest. But they were elected. As a former elected official who knows a lot of former and current elected officials, I will say that most, though certainly not all, are doing the best they can. If we disagree with what is going on we have a right, even a duty, to voice that disagreement. If no one is representing our opinion then we should support candidates who will, or even run for office ourselves (that is how I got involved, they just pi$$ed me off) But if only “monkeys” run for, or are elected to, public office then the person responsible is the one we see in the mirror each morning.

Honest disagreement and debate is what a free society needs to remain free. Unfortunately, some have found that their arguments do not carry sufficient force, or resonate with enough people, for them to win the day and they have resorted to other means. Ad hominum attacks, twisting the facts, demonizing their opponents, rewriting history and outright lies. While I agree with the old saying “Politics ain’t beanbag,” certain practices are corrosive to society and the democratic process. When partisans start saying that their domestic opposition is worse than terrorists, when they start associating with avowed foreign enemies or cheering on terrorists who attack a democratic ally, they need to be disavowed by all sides and excluded from the political process.

As much as I dislike the politics of some elected officials, past and present, I will not assume they are evil and corrupt just because I disagree with them. Ascribing evil motives and negative personal characteristics to those with whom I disagree poisons the debate and makes honest discussion impossible. Unfortunately in this media saturated environment some politicians have had great success doing just that. Every time a prominent politician goes on TV and howls that those with whom he disagrees are not merely wrong but guilty of all manner of knavery, treachery, hatred, and corruption they are debasing the democratic process and damaging the republic.




Ladisney,

Your mentioned (and obvious) experience and understanding of the mechanics of politics has always gained (and held) my respect.
You have put forth a well-crafted piece (quoted) that I consider makes so much sense and yet, it skillfully avoids the substance of my somewhat rhetoric question.

UN Assembley - Security Council - 1963, question posed to [I think] Andrei Gromyko - Ammbassador to the USSR:

Does the USSR Sir, have nuclear weapon installations based on Cuba, YES or NO?

Oooops, wrong era, sorry.

I'll try again with my own question...

Would you Sir, tell your son that you would like him to one day be a "great man", just like the current leader (or many others in the world today, for that matter)... YES or NO?

Methinks not, for obvious reasons. He is not a talker, nor a thinker and his "pitch" gravitates at such a low altitude, it seems to be aimed at people's feet, rather than their brain.
It therefore amazes me that he actually has such fanatical supporters.
Is he a role model to them? Does he inspire them as a great man? Is his intellect of a calibre that creates confidence. Are his results that spectacular?
Or is it just the necessity for some people to "belong" somewhere?

These are the questions I ask myself.

One can, of course, "carbon copy" (or is it "copy-paste" nowadays?) these questions in relation to several leaders across the world.
Having said that and before people make any assumptions, I had a lot of respect for this man's father.

For what it's worth, please forgive the term "monkeys" but I have found that the use of bananas (or implied future stock thereof) does actually produce results and I personally abuse this notion consistently, even if it's ... just for a laugh.

Bedouin. Blessed are those eyes that have seen more roads than any man! (Homer).