Trivial Politics

Here's a link to an opinion piece about an odious political trend (and a book I might want to read). George F. Will makes some good points, but the thing that I really found interesting is that he inadvertantly indicates that it's theoretically only possible to be meaningfully involved with tragedy.

I've remarked before that it's a very American trait to be ferocious in assault on the bad whilst being unable to define or defend anything that is good. Why are politicians unable to say anything interesting or authentic about $3 gas? Because they don't care about the the issue. All they know is: people are angry because gas is $3 a gallon. What's their interest in this situation? They want said angry people to stop whining at them.

If your motivation is to stop the whining, you're not going to be very interested in the situation and thus you won't be able to generate any authentic emotional reaction to it--apart from irritation, which simple politeness dictates you shouldn't display. Heck, a middle-manager at the company I work for will display wooden-faced endurance when faced with the same old idiot complaints over and over again.

Seeing the government as your (or other peoples') nursemaid is a great way to generate fatigue in the people who are supposed to be protecting your rights instead of holding your hand.