Primates

Primary season is open in Texas and the primates are clearly out and about. The rhetoric is historic, simplified, polarized. Though I have seen and heard some campaigns that capture the larger picture, most appear to me to be focused on sloganized and polarized philosophical sound bites that imply a philosophical stance toward our government. Adoption of a snap shot implies adherence to the larger picture, and I fear we are losing the ability to grasp the 3-D IMAX surround sound version of governmental philosophy after being bombarded by I-reporter-like cell phone photos.


My father died in September in the year after I graduated from college. I attended college via a combination of scholarships, loans and the income from part-time jobs whilst a full-time student. I graduated with student loan debt, paid off over 10 years. My youngest brother had just entered college when Dad died. His education was supported by Social Security, and his medical school costs were supported by Social Security. Now, an affluent MD he votes in ways that would shrink Social Security benefits while protecting his income. He does not like Medicare or Medicaid because of the paperwork and the reduced possible income from paying customers with private insurance. He is opposed to the Affordable Health Care Act because it might limit his income. He argues with me via email while he travels to China, Russia, Europe and the Caribbean on self-funded vacations while contractors renovate and improve his home. He is where he is now because tax payers supported programs from which he benefited and later became wealthy. There is something self-serving and cognitively dissonant with his position and he cannot see it.

Local business men and representatives of larger corporations bemoan the tax dollars they spend on schools, roads, hospitals, police and fire protection. And yet, each of these enterprises not only demand these services, they are incapable of functioning without a skilled workforce, roads to deliver their product, and the support of a clean source of water and efficient sewer system. They produce effectively and efficiently now because tax payers support programs and services from which they benefit and make profit. There is something self-serving and cognitively dissonant with their position and they cannot see it.

I am a trustee at our local protestant church, elected by my fellow church members. We struggle to maintain and improve our facilities to offer the services and support we offer to both members and non-members. We must watch every penny; we must prioritize what we do as there is never enough to do it all. I serve my church because I am a member and a believer. I am neither Muslim nor atheist. My mission is not to dismantle the church and reduce tithing. I do not feel I could serve in this role if that were my mission. I struggle deeply with the primates who run for office on a platform of dismantling the institution they seek to lead. I am more deeply bothered by the numbers of my fellow Americans who apparently subscribe to an anti-American government philosophy of government. I see it as self-serving and cognitively dissonant but they cannot see it.

I love our country. I am a patriot. I am proud. I tear up at the playing of the national anthem and at Veterans Day programs and when the Wounded Warriors come through town. I rare up when I hear a fellow American attack our government, demand that it be dismantled, demand that we spend less to provide the services from which we all benefit, and blame those who disagree with them for the current economic debt. And yet, I celebrate a nation where we can all express the thoughts we believe without consequence. I simply wish more of us were not so self-serving and cognitively dissonant. We need thoughtful folks running this country and this state. We do not need primates.