On Politicians

It is common practice in this country to assume politicians are trustworthy without much consideration. There is a fault in assuming that just because someone holds a certain position of power, that oh, well, s/he must be a decent person at the very least. Most Americans hold their daughter's prospective courters with more suspicion than a politician.

This is an interesting analogy. Politicians should be regarded with the same level of alert suspiciousness that you would have when dealing with a potential date rapist. They both want control. They will both use all of their charm, double talk, and silver tongued finesse to achieve their goal. There is an important difference though: politicians have more resources.

Politicians, while quick witted and silver tongued by nature, also have a team of professionals working behind them to make their image even smoother. They come from backgrounds of affluence and have enormous resources at their disposal, in terms of both raw finances and favors from others of equal standing.

Imagine your beautiful, innocent, naive 15 year old daughter had a date. This guy shows up at your house. Rings the bell. You open the door, and in walks this 23 year old jackass from the local college. He's driving a camaro. He's wearing a leather jacket, with his hair slicked back. You can see a pack of cigarettes in his pocket. You know this guy is after just one thing from your daughter, and you immediately want to tear him limb from limb. You furiously call your little girl downstairs, embarass her for 20 minutes, the @#$%& leaves, and your daughter hates you for a week.

Imagine this same scenario. Your daughter has a date. 15 years old, innocent as the day is long. Guy shows up. Rings the bell. In walks a handsome young man, wearing a suit. He immediately steps inside and hands you your evening paper, explaining it was on the stoop. He immediately compliments your home and your family. You notice HE'S driving a nice, safe, American car. You two briefly make small talk. He's clean cut and clean shaven. There are no cigarettes in his pocket. Your daughter comes downstairs and the two leave. You even give her an extra hour on her curfew.

What you don't realize is this second person is THE SAME GUY! See is family is pretty well off, and he makes a game of deflowering young high school girls. He hired a speechwriter and image consultants, and practiced in front of a target audience made up of fathers of 15 year old girls. He rented the car, tricked your a$$, and now he is going to ride your little baby up and down a high class hotel room until she passes out from the GHB he slipped into her Cosmo. She'll call you when she wakes up in the morning, and have you come and pick her up. 9 months later you will be a Grandparent.

This second situation illustrates the dynamics of the political marketplace in the current incarnation of our government. When we see a political candidate on television, at a rally, giving a speech, we are not seeing an actual person. We are seeing a cut and polished perfect image, that has been specifically tailored to appeal to the widest range of demographics possible. His words are not his own. His actions and emotions are not his own. Even his body language was thought up and double checked to be sure it didn't send the wrong signal. The color of suit and tie are specifically chosen. He may even be wearing makeup.

It has been shown time and time again that many people do not even truly know the persons closest to them. And yet Americans make judgements of politicians based on what they are told by media outlets and political staff. I can assure you that no matter who your preferential candidate is, they will decieve you, time and time again. They will disguise their motives and their personalities to make sure you like them. They will make promises they have no intention of keeping. And noone will ever call them on it.



[edit on 18-2-2008 by dominusluciferi]

Before you dismiss this tirade, strongly examine what past candidates have said, what past holders of office have said. Examine what they have done. Or haven't done. Imagine how the original incarnation of the government of this great and free nation would respond to a politician of today. "Scoundrels", "traitors", "heathens", "tyrants", and any other number of words would come into play.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Read my lips, NO NEW TAXES"
--George H. W. Bush

"I never said no new taxes"
--George H. W. Bush

"...but George Washington
could never tell a lie,
when his father asked who did it,
George Washington said 'I'."
--Children's Song

I agree with your sentiments about politicians, but don't necessarily agree with your view that most Americans trust them implicitly. In fact, I think it's the opposite.

A few things are going on here:
> Americans are usually faced with voting for "the lesser of 2 evils." I don't know one person who was a passionate supporter of the two bozos that headed their parties tickets in 2000 and 2004. I heard a lot of "anybody but Bush" and "I'm not voting for a flip-flopper", but none of "I really like Bush/Kerry/Gore".

> The politicians themselves are only a small part of the problem. The number of government employees has grown to the point that 'regulators' are putting in place policies which undermine our freedom. Just look at the moves to integrate Canada/US/Mexico. All done outside of Congressional approved treaties by faceless beaurocrats.

> The small percentage of the population which actually votes should give you an idea of how much people think of their choices for politician. It's not indicative of a large base of approval.

No, I don't think there's a ton of trust. But that's mainly because there's not a ton of choice.