Criticism of Politicians

**LittleGrizzly** · 07-21-2008, 00:14

Im sure alot start out with plenty of good intentions, but if theres one job to wear you down and turn you into a cycnical guy who just does what he has to then its politics.... Its the job rather than the people i would say

maybe partially a combanation of the type of people who go for the job... ambitous greedy power hungry... ect.

**Gregoshi** · 07-21-2008, 22:58

Originally Posted by LittleGrizzly

Im sure alot start out with plenty of good intentions, but if theres one job to wear you down and turn you into a cycnical guy who just does what he has to then its politics.... Its the job rather than the people i would say

That's kind of my take on it too LG. When you are constantly wined and dined and treated special in order to influence your decisions, it must gradually rub off and reinforce over time the feeling that you are above others.

Probably one of the most disheartening things I saw about our political system was during a visit to DC. We were walking around the Capitol building and there was a Congressman (don't know who) being interviewed in front of cameras and lights...and he was standing on a wooden box to look taller. I checked, it wasn't a soapbox.

As trivial as that seems, it said volumes to me about appearances over substance. However, I'm undecided if that reflected poorly on the state of the politicians or on we voters. Probably both.

**Evil_Maniac From Mars** · 07-21-2008, 23:21

Let's recap some points:

1) Politicians lie and act "fake" to keep their jobs.

2) Politicians don't take responsibility when they're wrong (which I disagree with, as quite a few politicians do take responsibility - but never mind that for now).

3) The job wears you down.

4) The system sucks, but they're not trying to fix it.

What do all of these points have in common? Exactly. They're what almost every single person does on a fairly regular basis. The expectations we have of politicians are almost superhuman, far beyond the capabilities of the vast majority of people.

**Alexander the Pretty Good** · 07-22-2008, 03:59

What do all of these points have in common? Exactly. They're what almost every single person does on a fairly regular basis. The expectations we have of politicians are almost superhuman, far beyond the capabilities of the vast majority of people.

Make a poor car, have an off year. Make a bad law, imprison thousands, tax millions. If they can't live up to the challenge (and I don't think anyone who is electable could) then they should be granted minimal authority.

**Evil_Maniac From Mars** · 07-22-2008, 04:10

Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

Make a poor car, have an off year. Make a bad law, imprison thousands, tax millions. If they can't live up to the challenge (and I don't think anyone who is electable could) then they should be granted minimal authority.

Oh, I'm not against libertarianism to a certain extent, but you must admit that people around the western world usually do pretty well with their governments. I mean, I don't like mine because they're pushing the Lisbon Treaty, but at the same time, they're not doing a bad job. I just disagree with them, based on policy.

**Husar** · 07-22-2008, 04:13

If they're not superhuman then why do they sign up for the job?

Personally I don't remember nor plan doing #1 and #4 seems directly linked to it. Since #4 is the essence of their job, fixing it would most likely fix a great deal of #1, that means if they actually did what we pay them for then there wouldn't be as much of a need to lie.
Or in other words if you paid someone to fix your toilet and he still didn't get the job done after two years, would you keep paying him and say he's alright?

**Evil_Maniac From Mars** · 07-22-2008, 04:21

Originally Posted by Husar

Or in other words if you paid someone to fix your toilet and he still didn't get the job done after two years, would you keep paying him and say he's alright?

If it was a ridiculously hard toilet to fix, and not many others could do it better, than yes, you keep paying him.

**Alexander the Pretty Good** · 07-22-2008, 04:24

Oh, I'm not against libertarianism to a certain extent, but you must admit that people around the western world usually do pretty well with their governments. I mean, I don't like mine because they're pushing the Lisbon Treaty, but at the same time, they're not doing a bad job. I just disagree with them, based on policy.

Since policy is their job, I think they certainly are doing a poor job. With the state of our economy, our debt, our mortgaged future, the war, Guantanamo, invasion of privacy, yeah I'd say they're doing a pretty poor job.

The beauracrats are merely "following orders."

**Evil_Maniac From Mars** · 07-22-2008, 04:27

Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

Since policy is their job, I think they certainly are doing a poor job. With the state of our economy, our debt, our mortgaged future, the war, Guantanamo, invasion of privacy, yeah I'd say they're doing a pretty poor job.

I'd agree with you that in America politicians in general are doing a poor job, but elsewhere in the western world, I don't think they're doing that badly. Anyways, I'd say that's as much the fault of the two-party system than of the individual politicians.