Sometimes after playing golf or just visiting with a group of friends, the subject of government comes up. My participation in these discussions is usually limited to an occasional comment, but mostly I just listen. There are three or four very good reasons that I limit my contribution — maybe I’ll talk about those here some time later. Anyhow, the consensus is that government is “all screwed up” and people in general don’t trust the government.
The forces contributing to the (current) wave of distrust include, but aren’t limited to, an uncertain economic environment, overwhelming discontent with Congress and elected officials in general, and a prevailing partisan environment. During the final House debate over health care reform, the public perception of Congress reached an all-time low. Generally speaking, the public’s impressions of elected officials are that they are corrupt, wasteful, self-serving, unwilling to compromise, and indifferent to the concerns of the general public.
But the fact is that dissatisfaction with government predates the health care debate and the Obama presidency. Down through the years, government and people’s perception of government hasn’t changed that much. Hating Congress (and the government in general) is a beloved American tradition. To confirm my suspicions, I did some extensive research and here’s some actual quotes from people you’ve probably at least heard of over the years. I didn’t make this up — they’re actual quotes — you can look them up yourself…. I’m pretty sure lots, if not most Americans, would agree with them today.
One of the more famous quotes comes from Mark Twain, “Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”
I couldn’t determine when the first quote, joke or slam of the government occurred, but they started long ago…
“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” — Pericles (430 B.C.)
“We hang petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” — Aesop
“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” — George Bernard Shaw
“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.” — Thomas Jefferson
“Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” — P.J. O’Rourke (Civil Libertarian)
“In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a government.” — John Adams
“Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.” — Douglas Casey (Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University)
Some of these quotes are funny, some are profound, but pretty much all of them speak some amount of truth. I don’t disagree that the government certainly has room for improvement —it’s always gone through highs and lows, hopefully we’re just in one of the lows now. I’ve traveled and lived in a good part of the world — I never entertained the thought of “settling down” in any other country. The grass isn’t always greener — grass is still grass. This country is still great — of course it could be greater if we could come up with more unemployed politicians.
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