We asked for this...

 "The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves..." William Shakespeare 


As the Nation's most recent political drama winds down, with all sides claiming victory, I'm weary of the blame being tossed around. Republicans blame Democrats for not getting more. Tea Party folks blame the Republicans for not getting a lot more. Democrats blame the Republicans for getting too much and the Tea Party folks for making the GOP so difficult to deal with this go-round. 


No one is pleased with President Obama. (Shocker, eh?)


I can only imagine what today's conservative/progressive talk shows will be like...


We should ignore all of it...


The gist of the deal struck Sunday evening calls for $1 trillion in cuts now, with more cuts ($1.5 Trillion) coming, especially to the defense budget if the bipartisan committee fails to come up with at least $1.5 Trillion in additional cuts. Medicare will be on the table. There's also going to be a vote on a balanced budget amendment, something that was very important to the Tea Party faction. 


High on the list of "winners" in this drama are those Tea Party Conservatives, who sent dozens of new congressmen to Washington last November to do this exact type of legislating. Many find the party faithful ill-informed and a bit rough around the edges, but like last November, their voices have been heard. We throw around phrases like "get involved" in your government, but this crowd actually did it. I may not like them or agree with them, but they've earned my respect. 


High on the list of "losers" is Congress in general. As symbolic failed vote followed symbolic failed vote, we realized each party was merely "planting their flag" so to speak with regard to the final solution. Most of us feel like we we subjected to levels of drama and uncertainty we didn't deserve. The staged walking out of meetings, the impromptu press conferences, etc. all part of the plot we could've done without.


A common theme I heard throughout the debt ceiling debate was that this must be the most dysfunctional Congress...ever. Perhaps. Without 24/7 news media watching their every move, who really knows? In the early days of the Senate, Senators have drawn weapons on each other. One Senator was caned and couldn't return to his seat until three years later. Fistfights. 


It doesn't matter. 


We have the Government we deserve. There's a reason our elected officials mug for the cameras and say outlandish and incorrect things. They do it because we watch. We love outrageous. We love anger. We love sarcasm. As long as we buy into the act, they'll keep acting. "Death panels" sounds so evil it must be true, right? From the other side, an irresponsible suggestion that Social Security checks might not go out also riles up people.


If we better understood how our Government works and how to research things on the internet, we wouldn't get so upset. If instead of relying on Fox News or MSNBC for our daily dose, we scanned several websites with different perspectives, or actually read a Bill, our knowledge level would be much improved. We won't, which means its likely going to get worse before it gets better. 


There's a Presidential election right around the corner. There's going to be a lot of things said and claimed. There's going to be some brutally scary advertising. I think its our duty to work through the muck and figure out fact from fiction. Truth from lies. 

They play games because that's what holds our attention. They are not appealing to our "better angels." Too often we act like children when it comes to our politics. The House and the Senate are two of the cartoons we watch for kicks and giggles. 


If you thought the debt ceiling drama was good, just wait...








Sources: 


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/a-deal-that-found-the-lowest-common-denominator/2011/07/11/gIQAde9TmI_blog.html?hpid=z1


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/opinion/12freeman.html