If and Only If

The Deacon had a thought last night that he would wake up today and write a post on how horribly the game of politics is played these days - on how bills are voted on "if and only if they are Democratic" or "if and only if they are Republican" rather than "if and only if" they benefit the country as a whole.

The example the Deacon was going to use of how the game should be played was the Senior Senator from Massachusetts. When people think, Ted Kennedy, they think "liberal." The man would speak his thoughts, and they were liberal, but where were they put into action? He knew, as seemingly no one else these days does, that you state your position, then work on reaching the best outcome with those who disagree. If there is a Democratic plan, Republicans tell you how bad it is. If there is a Republican plan (remember, a few months ago, they existed), Democrats would tell you how bad it is. Never, "well, that's their plan, but maybe we should do this..."

Politics is not "this or that" (the Deacon refuses to use "black or white" in the present situation), but a combination. An example is the nut jobs at health care town halls for and against reform. While the media shows you only these people, the rest of us sit back and hope that the 535 people we have designated to represent us don't fuck us over to serve themselves.

The Deacon never agreed with all of Senator Kennedy's policies, but he interned for him, and has never regretted it. For any label that you could apply to him, the one that always came out on top was "a great man." If you want to disagree with that, and call him a drunk or a murderer, take a moment to think about the span of your life. There is absolutely no doubt that a part of it was made better at some point in time by Edward Kennedy, no doubt at all. Be a better person, and recognize that, if only for a moment.