POLITICAL PERSONALITIES
Posted by Tim Bryce on February 25, 2015
BRYCE ON POLITICS
– What causes someone to become a member of the walking dead?
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It is not much of a secret that politicians are experiencing low approval ratings. Whether it is at the municipal, county, state or federal level, people generally do not trust politicians. So much so, it makes you wonder why someone would want to become involved in this kind of work.
I feel sorry for people who become politicians. Frankly, I don’t know how they live with themselves. I have known several people who were decent people, spoke their minds, and were standup citizens. Yet, when they become a politician, regardless of the rank, they undergo a metamorphosis and become milk toast people who you can no longer trust. I’ve seen this occur in members of both parties and it is all rather discouraging.
I wonder why this happens. Maybe as part of their indoctrination they are locked in a room where they are made privy to the true secrets of the Kennedy assassination, UFO’s, and Hitler’s true resting place in Argentina. Here they are overwhelmed by truth but warned if they divulge any of it, they will be quietly eliminated.
Suddenly, they seem to lose their passion and conviction on various issues, they become politically correct to the point of being obnoxious, and become too “touchy/feely” (they also smile too much). Instead of acting human, they’ve turned into another species altogether, “politicians.”
Very few seem to possess the resiliency to resist temptation and inevitably turn to “the dark side.” Most people go into politics with the best intentions, but then transform into another being altogether. One cannot help but ask, Why? It is money? Control? Recognition? Protecting their job? What? In this day and age of micromanagement, I tend to believe it is a little of everything. Maybe there is some socio-psychological desire to entertain or sway people. The same desire can be found in salesmen after experiencing a sale; It’s the same “rush” entertainers experience after delivering an excellent performance.
Some cannot resist the temptation to become a career politician, regardless of the level in government. After all, being in politics is better than working for a living. The pay and benefits can be very attractive.
Back during the days of the founding of our country, men would serve one or two terms in Congress, before acquiescing control in favor of returning home and tending to their farms or plantations. In other words, it was someone else’s turn to tend to the business of government. The idea of remaining in government was considered loathsome.
I suspect there is a sleaze factor associated with anyone who spends too much time in government, which is why the country supports the concept of term limits. I think we owe it to politicians who finally step aside, to put them through a detox program, teach them how to communicate with the average person, as well as teaching them morality, and build a whole new personality for them. Maybe they should be placed in a witness protection program or the Betty Ford Clinic until they are ready to mingle with society again.
I believe the reason people no longer trust politicians is because they do not perceive them as human anymore, but as zombies aimlessly walking the corridors of government asking for “Change?…Change?…”
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com
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Copyright © 2015 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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P. Kathy Kleiman said
Madison said it best: Most people (citizens) become politicians because they are ambitious. When this country was under the Confederation of States, the people would, if a Governor did something they did not like, would just fire him and hire someone else. So, Madison said that honor must go with the job. They must be highly thought of and their job must come with the perks associated with the honor that goes with the office.
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P. Kathy Kleiman said
There is a divide in the GOP between the new “Firebrands” my company has monikered a name of “Our Young Guns,” people like Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Trey Gowdy, Mike Lee, to name a few. They are filled with the honor and tradition when they walk into our The People’s House. The GOP or RINOS see themselves as they were when they first got there, idealized, honorable, and ready to work. But, without term limits and once you give up all sense of decency and honor, the eventuality that you will cave to special interests, big business or labor is for sure. They hate these men because they see themselves as they once were before they caved and these guys will not go along with the status quo. Because of the Internet, every vote, every word is held in a sort of time machine and now their constituents know them by their works. The founders did not like what they called the Spirit of Faction or the Party of Faction because they knew what this could do. The need for term limits is not a new concept, in fact, John Quincy Adams was President when the country was in crisis. Jobs were hard to come by, banks were printing too much money and immigration was becoming overwhelming. Sound familiar? He said the following: “The governments are the servants of the people, and are so considered by the people, who place and displace them at their pleasure. They are chosen to manage for short periods the common concerns, and when they cease to give pleasure, they cease to be employed.” Boy the mid-terms did just that. He also said much on immigration:”We understand perfectly, that of the multitude of foreigners who yearly flock to our shores, to take up abode, none come from affection or regard to a land to which they are total strangers, and with the very language of which, those of them are generally unacquainted.We know that they come with views, not to our benefit, but to their own, not to promote our welfare, but to better their own.” And to all of the Muslims living here, I would say the same thing Adams said,”They come to a life of independence but of labor–and, if they cannot accommodate themselves to the character, moral, political, and physical, of this country, with all of its compensating balances of good and evil, the Atlantic is always open to them to return to the land of their nativity and their fathers.” I completely agree with him. If our immigrants openly criticize us, defy our laws and do not hesitate to call us names and clap when they burn our flag in other countries, then they do not belong here amonst us.
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Francis Dryden said
Some things that really bother me are, as an example, laws passed preventing bill collectors from calling before 10 AM and after 5 PM… if people pay their bills this doesn’t matter but when people don’t pay their bills it matters big time and for good reason… a law like this is passed by a majority vote which leads me to believe that the majority of politicians don’t pay their bills and are firstly protecting themselves. Just ask yourself… if you pay your bills do you really worry that people who get phone calls at all hours? No! There are 100’s of these self-serving bills passed by all levels of government and thereby, politicians.
I live in Mexico where if you don’t get your money today for whatever at point of sale, you will never see it! The politicians here won’t allow bill collectors to operate AT ALL and pass the most contorted laws you have ever seen… as an example, get away with NOT paying a bill (or homeowner fees, condo fees, anything) for 5 years and they don’t owe the money anymore!! Twisted?… You bet! Truth?… You bet!
By the way the Spanish work for a deadbeat is moroso and there are millions of them.
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Don Frankel said
Very funny Tim, very funny. I think it’s the Aliens that gets them. But it could be the Kennedy Assassination too. And, now we know what they mean by change.
I will grant everyone the motive that they are working for the greater good. But if you are creating the greater good, shouldn’t you get paid? I mean you are creating the greater good. Shouldn’t you have a nice salary, a big staff, reimbursement for your expenses and G4 to take you around? I mean that makes sense to me.
Perhaps the answer is not term limits but session limits. Have a Spring session of four weeks and another four the fall. All the Representative gets is a stipend for the weeks they go to Washington. The only incentive anyone would have would be to do their Civic duty. No one would want to do that too often.
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Tim Bryce said
Don – It’s an interesting phenomenon isn’t it? I saw this recently in a GOP county commissioner. Before, he was campaigning hard to change things. After, he turned to milk toast. Oy!
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