By Scott Tibbs, June 27, 2016
One would not think that a Star Wars movie would be the place to bring folks back to reality in dealing with political disagreements, but there is a very short exchange in Attack of the Clones that should be required viewing for anyone looking to run for legislative office. This is a basic, simple concept that too many people just do not understand.
When Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker are talking, Anakin is bemoaning the inefficiencies of democracy and says that the politicians should just get together, talk it over, and get something done. That is pretty much what we hear all the time in the real world, from politicians to pundits to your average man on the street. Padme responds by saying that people do not agree on what needs to be done, and Anakin says they should be made to agree. Padme asks who should make them agree, and Anakin says "someone wise." Padme correctly points out that Anakin's idea "sounds like a dictatorship."
Yes. A hundred trillion times, yes!
People just do not agree. Whether the issue is gun control, health care, abortion, homosexual marriage, religious liberty, taxes, regulation, environmental policy or any number of other things, people do not agree on what is best. Just as one cannot expect Leftists to go along with a conservative policy they find ineffective or harmful, one should not expect conservatives to go along with a policy they find ineffective or harmful. It is better to do nothing at all than to do something destructive.
This is why it is so disingenuous and hypocritical for politicians and pundits to whine about gridlock. A more ethical solution would be to make the case for your policy, and why it will be beneficial and will solve the problem we are facing. But as long as whining about gridlock scores political points, politicians and pundits will continue to whine. The solution, then, is for the American people to educate themselves and think critically about these things. If people stop applauding this uninformed, content-free whining the whining will stop.
