Nasty Talk Show Mentality Now Prevalent Not Conducive to a Democracy
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Granholm out to end conflict with business community
Too much Jerry Springer mentality??
Remember the old saying: "if you can't beat them, join them."
Recently, it seems, the adage has been changed to: "if you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten."
An un-natural nastiness has pervaded government, business and civic life. National commentators have noted this development, pointing especially to obnoxious radio and television talk show hosts who flaunt their intolerance.
The Equal Time laws and other fairness dictums of the Federal Communications Commission seem to have been totally ignored. Highly partisan ideological points of view proliferate, with no response offered, or apparently, allowed.
These attitudes spread to local civic life, resulting in Nimbyism (not in my backyard), which pits neighbor against neighbor and inhibits almost every type of development, personal attacks in public comment periods during governmental meetings, spurious court actions and on and on.
It seems the local folks in the neighborhoods are taking their cues from the national media. This type of activity escalates until the wheels of progress grind to a halt, affected by millions of grains of sand of constant rancorous dissent.
It's a far cry from the kinder, gentler days when a favorite school superintendent of mine, who was fond of pithy statements, used to say: "We can disagree without being disagreeable." Being disagreeable seems to be the main goal of some of the national commentators. The tenor of the Jerry Springer show has taken over the whole country, and this is the worst possible outcome for a democracy which depends on cooperation.
Recently, in Michigan, a new birth of freedom, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, may have been launched by James Barrett, president of the Michigan State Chamber of Commerce. Barrett, apparently, is not going to arrange to have new Governor Jennifer Granholm beaten, he is going to join her.
This spirit of business/governmental cooperation is a radical departure from the previous administration of John Engler, a master politician who used power indiscriminately against anyone from either party who opposed his views.
After having watched, and as a journalist, covered, every governor from G. Mennen Williams on, this was a startling, and disturbing, approach to government. The phrase, "consent of the governed," seemed to have been dropped from the lexicon.
Don't get me wrong, the tough approach was needed to solve some deep-seated problems, such as aan overdependence on welfare, in the state. But when raw power overcame common sense, the balance tipped the scales too far and the positive effects of change were diminished. Balance between the liberal and the conservative philosophies has proven most successful in societies, history has shown. That's the strength of the American system.
Barrett, of course, sees no benefit in continuing the rancorous conflict with the Democratic Party which now occupies the governor's mansion. Also, to her credit, Gov. Granholm sees no benefit in an on-going conflict with the business community. It is refreshing to see a pragmatic political approach, rather than one which employed the bludgeon of raw power.
Lord knows we all will have to "get along" and pull together to overcome the state's fiscal mess, and the economic decline of our region and community.
NOTE: If you have comments about this column, please e-mail them to Dave Rogers - Thanks.
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