Gridlock

With the recent failure of the immigration bill in the Senate and the pending gridlock on virtually every major political issue like abortion, global warming, stem cell research, energy usage, etc. I decided to step back and locate comparisons between the forces in my own heart and mind that seem to create personal gridlock and see if there are any parallels to those that seem to paralyze our government.

The first and most obvious is aversion to change. Even though I am fairly miserable and should be actively seeking change, somehow I talk myself out of it. Whether it is a new career, moving on from the divorce, or seeking new relationships, I just cannot seem to pull the trigger. Our government seems to function the same way; it’s the ‘even though it’s broke, don’t fix it’ philosophy of life and governance. For instance, the health care system in the US is an utter disaster. Doctor’s cannot afford to practice because of malpractice insurance rates, and Dog knows the rest of us can’t afford to use their services or in some cases even pay for insurance.

A close relative of aversion to change is the risk of failure. Hell, I should have no problem with this as I have seemed to master failure in nearly every aspect of my life except drinking (in which I have made the all star team 7 of the last 10 years…). Yet, I continue to take the easy way out, turn down the challenging job, not talk to the hottie who is actually looking at me, etc. Wasn’t it Al Davis who said, “Just coast, baby?” Our duly-elected leaders seem to follow that mantra incessantly. Why try to lead from the front when you can blend in and hopefully gain reelection for perpetuity? Term limits might help our government find its collective spine, but they certainly won’t work for me unless perhaps Mom applies a term limit to her basement.

I think a final reason for this gridlock, and maybe this is over simplification, but perhaps it is just human nature. Why try to be progressive? Why try to be proactive? Why should I try to better my situation when it is so much fun to wallow in misery and despair? Plus it gives you a great reason to drink. Why should we address global warming? Why should we seek alternative means of energy? Why should we seek to advance stem cell research? Oh wait, maybe because we should care about what we have and what those that come behind us will be left to deal with. Perhaps that is a little to progressive for this post though. I should probably just stay in the basement today.