More and more Americans believe the federal government is irreparably dysfunctional if not downright evil (Hitler had toll booths... is that what you're proposing?) and I think the main reason is not that the federal government is irreparably dysfunctional if not downright evil -- after all, when did Americans ever base their opinions upon the facts? -- but that politicians have, collectively, launched a massive media campaign to convince us so.
Claiming something's broken may seem like an obvious line of argument: just hire me, and it'll get fixed! But imagine taking that tone in a job interview or annual review:
"Eric, thanks for coming in. So tell me, why are you interested in Acme and what do you bring to the table that other candidates don't?"
"Thanks for bringing me in, Ms. McGillocutty. The truth is, your company is broken. Through years of fraud, mismanagement and waste, you've managed to cheat shareholders, workers and customers while making a terrible, terrible product. I'm shocked you've done as poorly as you have, but by God, you've managed. This place is broken and it can't be fixed. We need to start again."
"Thank you for sharing your perspective. Please show yourself out."
When will we break free of the "outsider" mentality in politics and start valuing experience and competence again? "Government is broken" is a self-defeating line of reasoning that truly needs fixing.
No comments:
Post a Comment