One of the more difficult tasks when discussing politics is finding the right vantage point to see the journey as well as the destination. Often the path from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ is anything but a straight line so snapshots along the way can look way out of place.
Following the standards of politics it is important to understand the following; (1) All politicians lie. (2) Money often decides outcomes. (3) Political speeches only make you feel good or bad.
When Connecting the Dots tries to look at politics, we do our best to be balanced although some may disagree. We try to focus on the destination and not so much the trip. We understand the fact that many things happen behind closed doors. So by connecting the dots we try to give an idea of the goal as it is truly the only solid bit of ground along a quicksand filled path politicians walk. Often the ethically right call may be a self inflicted fatal wound for a politician, so understanding the reasons are important.
International politics often has the most drama when it comes to hot topics like nuclear weapons and terrorism. Domestic politics hinge around what the people want to be top priority. For example in the US, President Obama’s health care plan is low on the list of priorities for Americans. But if passed will help the top priorities indirectly by changing health care costs. So by looking at the snapshot of the moment it is easy to take the goal out of context.
The same is true with other hot topics like how to deal with banks that are making ’suckers’ out of Americans who helped them. The first thing that happened was the stock market took a dive. But when you think about the desired end result the stock market should have a steady climb and not look like a seismograph during a big earthquake. Stepping back to the bigger picture, outside of the price of oil it was the banks according to experts that were major contributors to the economic problems of 2008 and 2009. So this is going after the cause to stop the effect.
When you look past the US to other countries where politics is a nest of angry hornets or some other undesirable, you see misuse of information as a scare tactic hoping to steer the lead sheep. That misinformation is part of the quicksand along the path, and it must be shown for what it is and not argue with it.
One example was the alleged tainted data for global warming. All you need do is look outside and see that it now rains when it never did before, and the weather normals that an older person may expect simply are not predictable. It was once easy to predict when trees would bud or when the first flower would appear, but not any more.
These are all things that must be considered when talking about politics. Connecting the Dots looks to cut past all of that and help keep you focused on the goal and not the distractions along the way. You may like or dislike a certain politician based on personality, but to understand their true character you must look at their goal along with the general direction they are moving. They will make mistakes because of events beyond their control or something they did not see, and that should be seen for what it is of simply being human.
It may be hard to determine what a weather cycle is by looking out your window as the timing of these patterns are much greater than one human lifetime.
I liked your balanced viewpoint that all politicians are liars. However you still seem to be a lapdog for Obama and his administration… still waiting for you to call him out by name. Don’t make me hold my breath forever.
-Mike