Our politics and our political system are bankrupt. They are based on rhetoric, performance and hearsay, not accountability.
Mistake: Politics is not just rhetoric
I read two articles on Medium.com. The first by Curtis Dozier on Hillary Clinton and the Rhetoric of Trust. The second by Joanna Kenty on Hillary Clinton’s Rhetorical Persona. They were good. They were about how we listen for trust and virtue and leadership. And we really only know how to hear these from men, not than women.
There’s another possibility for politics
An unspoken assumption in these articles was that rhetoric comprises politics. Yes, it does make up most, if not all, of our current political system. But much more is possible. Let’s look at these two realms of politics- what we have and what’s possible.
The old: Bankrupt politics based on teams, speeches and hearsay
First is the politics we know, based on rhetoric and performance in speeches and hearsay. By “hearsay” I mean all the pundits, judgements, news and non-news articles about politics. Plus all the tweets and posts and clever and not-so-clever graphics. It’s like a sport- we send our team onto the stage and have them compete for popularity, whether based on policies, experience, or showmanship. And then everyone comments about it and predicts who’ll win the league championship.
This is politics based on teams and conflict. It splits both the politicians and the citizenry into groups. Their are fans, opposing fans, plus people who aren’t into sports. And it’s based on conflict, struggling for power, the power to control our future. It’s based on winning and losing and keeping the support of the home-town fans.
A new possibility: Politics based on accountability to the people
And then there’s the politics we don’t know and have never seen, based on promises, past-performance, communication and above all, accountability. Rather than forming groups, it begins with all of us communicating about what we want together. It’s about seeing the results, finding solutions and agreeing on a way forward. The finding of solutions and agreeing on a way forward would be led by our representatives, but then they’d report to us. It could even include getting our approval.
Note this is not about Republicans or Democrats or any other group marketing their pet solutions to an uninformed public. That would be more of what we already have (and there are ways of preventing that.) This is about the citizens who care about an issue. It’s about them saying what they want. And of course, you’re part of this group if you care.
It’s not about getting rid of the old system
This isn’t about doing away with our current system of politics. This is about adding a new context. And yes, if we want to change the old system in some ways, we’d be able to do it. Should we limit campaign contributions? Should we change the primary system so the members of the party, instead of the political bosses, get to say who’s in the debates? Should we change our voting system so you can say all of the candidates you support instead of “wasting your vote” if you don’t vote for a major party candidate?
Our political system is bankrupt. It’s based on superficial appearance before the election without any real currency after. If a candidate wants to base their campaign on accountability instead of hearsay and rhetoric, they can’t. Let’s add some new value to politics. Let’s give them the opportunity to be accountable.