The C-Word and Politics: Career Politician! Ahhh!
Posted: Friday, October 29, 2010
by Brombergs 2 Cents
Do we have a new c-word?
Technically I know it is a two-word phrase but I couldn't
resist the analogy of a common expression, career politician, with the vile
curse word women (and men) have particularly been against for decades. There
have been so many attack ads for the candidates in California (and I suspect all over the
country) that I almost don't want to even turn on the television. The big match
in this state is the former CEO versus the career politician. Both seem to have
negative connotations when it comes to voters, and this I find to be
intriguing.
The problem of being a CEO turned politician
This is the same thing, as I see it, as the celebrity
phenomenon. Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and others who came from the
movies into politics likely had no business going into that line of work. I
mean, if you were applying for a job as a salesman, and you had work
experiences only as a painter, the sales office would probably look at you and
say, "You are not a good fit for this position." So why is it that movie stars,
or business people with little to no experience in legislation or judicial
affairs, get to run without people scratching their heads in confusion? Just
because you ran a tech company in the 90s and made gazillions of dollars, how
does that make you qualified to run a government? "Well I have leadership
skills," they might say. That may be true, but that is also something you put
on your resume to make yourself appear more competent than you really are.
Right? I think so.
The problem of being a career politician
I dislike the phrase ‘career politician' because it is used
negatively as if there is something inherently wrong with being a politician.
Granted, politicians have a reputation for being unethical, slimy bastards that
fake emotions more than an Orange
County housewife at a
homeless shelter. Granted, politics is a tricky and often nasty line of work.
Still, to call someone a career politician like it is a bad thing seems wrong.
That's right, John Smith is a politician and it has been his career. Because
politics has been on his resume, wouldn't he be a qualified candidate for the
position? No! He is a c-word. The next time the CEO insults the other candidate
by calling him a career politician, he should say, "Oh yeah? Well you are a
career CEO! I spent my life working on bills that will benefit our children and
our children's children. You spent your life increasing the profit-margin of a
corporation and dancing like a monkey for the shareholders." Boo-ya.
So when it comes down to it, we have a money-loving, dancing
monkey against a hypocritical, unethical bastard. Good times.
Every so often I take a break from writing about film and
pursue a topic in current events that I feel is worthy of some attention. Election
times of the year remind us about how good (or bad) our governmental system is
and we need to respect the hell out of it as much as we can. If we look to the
negatives, which is easy to do, then we might as well all start moving to Canada. At
least we Americans would get better health care.
Other than vote, the only thing I can suggest to
improve our political climate is to do your homework, see which positives are
the greatest for the propositions or the candidates, since the negatives are
often plentiful and depressing.
Only then can we be happy about our country, our leaders,
and our lawmakers. I want to continue to be happy when I see bald eagles. Don't
you?
The video is hilarious, and as for Ronnie and Arnie, I don't really think either of them were particularly qualified to be in the movies either!Ha! Fair enough. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I always found it interesting how a bodybuilder from Austria got into the movies in the first place. But, I suppose, if he can, anyone can. Hmm, maybe I should move to Hollywood?I'd give it a shot if I were you!
I liked the video very much. As far as television stars they make us laugh at the ignorance in everyday politicians. If they were in power perhaps we would get things done a lot easier.Thanks David. You're right, and I love watching the comedy and satire of it all. Glad you could stop by. -Bromberg
