On Good Governance
How do most Americans reward Good Governance?
You would understand the party that delivers the most in terms of real impact for what they can do to help your daily lives is the party that is delivering good governance. A party that protects security, both at home and abroad, and takes care of our interests in financial impacts as well as in the so-called “Peace through Strength’ mantra would seem to be the one you would turn to…
There is a good book called “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” by Thomas Frank, that detailed all of the reasons people vote against their own interests. And even when Trump was first elected, there was a segment on the news where someone was interested in getting health care for their adult child and then praised Trump, for ‘finally’ bringing health care to her son?!…All the while, not realizing of course that Obamacare-the ACA-was the instrument through which her son would actually be able to be covered!
It’s a combination of willful interest and cultural war propaganda tools that have brought us to this point. Not to mention a love of Conspiracy Theories that dates back to the time of the Kennedy Assassination!
How do we define Good Governance?
Good Governance has to be defined by that which helps us in our everyday lives. And also, it should be the type of government that will remain open and transparent to reveal itself not to be corrupted and corruptible by unethical politicians and those who are not truly serving the public interest.
There is a wonderful series running currently from PBS about the ten-year period that it took for one man-Julius Caesar-to bring down the Roman institution of the Senate that was governed by the people for 500 years. It didn’t take long to bring it down.
Caesar was a populist who purported to be a “Man of the People.” Sound familiar? Yet he proved time and again, long before he literally “Crossed the Rubicon,’ that he was willing to break norms and to upend precedent simply to remain in power and to incrementally work to increase his power.
Good Governance needs to be recognized and rewarded. It needs to be defined by the people to be an instrument for the good of the people. Democracy, it turns out, doesn’t just die in darkness. It can be killed in the cold light of day if enough people turn against the idea that Democracy doesn’t matter….
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