There should be hope, but we are left hopeless. There should be direction, but the compass has been replaced by cash. There should be purpose, but instead there is unrelenting partisanship.
I start each day as I have since I was an elementary school student who aspired to be a journalist: I catch up on the news of the day and try to make some kind of sense of it all. The past dozen or more years, that has become a harder pill to swallow each day. When I was younger, I would read the local daily newspaper in the morning and watch the Chicago ABC-TV affiliate’s “Eyewitness News” in the evening to keep up with current events. Today, my days start with the Democrat and cup of coffee, then a scroll through Twitter to see what has people’s attention.
Former House Speaker Tip O’Neill used to say, “All politics is local.” Sorry, Tip, but that is no longer true.
The farther a politician gets from their constituency, the less connected they are to voters and more connected they are to interest groups, lobbyists, party bosses and others who care only about their own interests – which typically center on money and influence. I admit that is a cynical viewpoint, but after two decades of caustic campaigns and the abdication of compromise, it’s the only viewpoint left.
This week, as the Senate health care bill was cloaked from view and the White House warned reporters not to report on its rules for not allowing audio or video from Thursday’s press briefing, I found the slightest glimmer of optimism. I found hope in Knope.
Leslie Knope, the focal point of the sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” is in many ways the ideal of public service. The character, played by Amy Poehler, has a laser focus on trying to make her community a better place to live. The show is a comedy, so Knope and her Parks Department co-workers end up in a lot of buffoonish situations, but at its heart it shows the promise of good people trying to accomplish good things for their neighbors.
As she debates her opponent for a Pawnee City Council seat, Knope tells the crowd: “I love this town. And when you love something, you don’t threaten it. You don’t punish it. You fight for it. You take care of it. You put it first. As your City Councilor, I will make sure that no one takes advantage of Pawnee. If I seem too passionate, it’s because I care. If I come on strong, it’s because I feel strongly. And if I push too hard, it’s because things aren’t moving fast enough. This is my home. You are my family.”
You can discount this as Hollywood pipe dreams if you wish. That’s the easy way to endorse the status quo, which has replaced service with selfishness. Rather than seeking leaders, too many voters now use litmus tests to check how purely a candidate aligns with their narrow view of political perfection. Compromise is seen as weakness rather than as a way for all sides to make gains. Until that mindset changes, we will continue to see policy set by those who have the most money and those who scream the loudest.
After winning her council seat, Knope delivers an address filled with heart and hope:
“The idea behind this campaign was a simple one: That with hard work and positivity, a group of people can make a difference. … I want to focus on your hopes and not your fears. I want to solve problems instead of creating friction. … No one achieves anything alone. So let’s embark on a new journey together. Let’s break out a map. Not the old, out-of-date one that shows where we’ve been, but a crisp new one that shows where we might go.”
The question we have to ask of our political leaders is where they think this continued divisiveness will lead us.
