Who Cares About Playing Nice -- Play Real Instead

In this week's New York Times' Week in Review, Mark Liebovich reduces decades of presidential inaugural intentions to "Play Nice: Looking for Peace, Love and Manners in Washington." The sad thing is that Mr. Liebovich is right. Inaugurals have historically been about tone-setting in Washington.

Frankly, my dear, I just don't give a damn about the tone in Washington any more. Nor do I really care about its causes. Call it reflexive partisanship, call it cantankerous cronyism, call it Ishmael. Really, who cares? The tone is what it is, and it will be what it will be. If our federal elected community wants to play nice, they will. If they don't, they won't.

Don't get me wrong. Playing nice is nice, but I'd much rather have my electorate play real as this new administration gets underway. Really real. Totally real. Dealing-with-the-facts-of-the-nation real. Real, way over and above tone.

My reasons are myriad. Parents can't feed their children on what they earn. Healthcare is not affordable. Bridges are collapsing. New Orleans still isn't rebuilt. Banks are hoarding their precious, costly bailout coins. More and more people are unemployed. The foreclosures continue. I could go on, but why?

The biggest reason for playing real is because people are afraid. Mr. Liebovich quotes former Senator Warren Rudman, Republican, of New Hampshire, "We have one thing going for us that we haven't had in a while, and that's fear." When fear becomes an asset, something has to change -- change big and change now.

And what needs changing isn't the tone in Washington, it's the practice of spinning the truth. I'm aware, just as you are, that truth is thoroughly related to perception, but come on. Fussing about the way things are done in Washington doesn't even begin to address the what that is done in Washington. Let ʼem squabble, but get real. In fact, just to be devilish, I'm not sure the squabbling is such a bad thing; it often brings to bear larger and more inclusive viewpoints.

As the Obama administration is about to begin, may I suggest we each get the phone numbers of our federal representatives, place them in our cellphones, and call when some issue or other feels real and important to us?

We can, you know. And in so doing we can continue to participate in this phenomenal process called democracy, but only if we get real about this beautiful country of ours.

Visit Susan Corso's spiritual blog or subscribe to Seeds at www.susancorso.com.

Comments

[JinChicago]

very good advice about aving the senator and house members from our state in the phone. im doing so now and adding to my speed dial!

[dogman44]

A method that gets better results: Write a letter and enclose a large amount of money.

[peacecollins]

Enclosing money without evidence of its proper use is a unattractive method for change in my opinion

[schatsie]

He owes us the TRUTH, yes reconciliation would be nice, but not really I want AMENDS, I want Financial Security for the real middle class, I want healthcare for everyone, I want the poor to be able to raise their children to have the same opportunity that Barack, Michelle and I had....

But this is too much for the Repugs, who want this to be a country of Paris Hiltons and Effete snobs who tell you to eat cake and work 3 jobs and forget about the children and healthcare...

We had BEA Gatty in Baltimore who was a city treasure, died way too early of breast cancer...I want Mammograms and Colonoscopies to be free... I want every job to give 2 weeks of sick leave...and paid out at the wage rate if you do not use it....

[davism97]

" I'm aware, just as you are, that truth is thoroughly related to perception, but come on. "

Not really. Truth only seems that way when you have interest groups spinning it so nobody can make up their minds anymore. Truth is truth though. 1 =1. Cheney authorized torture. Bush lied to congress to gain support for the Iraq war. These things are facts that no amount of spin can change.

[2stupid4words]

Dear Dr.,
Are you suggesting that the population forget about political correctness? If so, I am in total agreement because we as a nation have been afraid far too long to call a spade a spade! Thank you for the candor of your writing.

[CaveatMagnusFrater]

Exactly who are you calling a spade?

[fairwitness]

THANK YOU. This is exactly right...it is totally annoying for all the pundits and even Obama himself (not to mention his entire "team"), after 8 years of criminal hell and SILENT, feckless Democrats in Congress, to decide the TONE has been the problem.

It is the WHAT of what has been done much more than the HOW it was done. Bush has been charming the pants off the press, Cheney has been, well, mostly amiably grumpy, while they and their gang flushed the country down the toilet in every way possible and continue to drive us full speed ahead into the abyss as I write--and who thinks pre-emptive pardons are not a certainty by next Tuesday?

I'm sick of "can't we all just get along" NOW, AFTER the criminals have looted and raped the country to their heart's content without opposition and with the covert and overt compliance of the Democrats. The pundit class decides NOW that the Democrats must be meek and contrite and timid and bipartisian lest they offend anyone. JEEZUS, it's time for prosecutions, for God's sake, not more wimpering and weakness.

Obama can lose his standing, no less than his moral bearings, very quickly if he wimps out in the interest of making nice with sociopathic Republicans. He PROMISED he would be different, that he would not look the other way when powerful people commit crimes--now he must prove it. He has earned no unquestioning allegience.

He owes us CHANGE.