It is so sad to think that our system of which we have always been proud and for which we are grateful is smashed to smithereens and incapable of repair. I do not claim there are no cracks or dents in the surface, but as it is with so many damaged goods, the required measures for repair are so tacitly simple, that they are too easy to overlook.
What concerns me the most is that any reaction to the obvious defects or to the inertia that has taken form might be extreme and land us in an equally damaging position by virtue of a seismic shift.
The biggest problem has been the inflexibility on both sides. And the insistence on transparency that has not yet been addressed or initiated. And the absolutely horrendous, rushed decisions that were based on an absence of practicality or utility. "Unintended Consequences" have run rampant and left in their wake, uncertainty and a feeling of hopelessness.
Ideologues should be replaced by idealism. Heroes can take many forms, and the sacrifices that have been glorified can take place on the political battlefield by abandoning the insatiable need for power/influence, or basking in credit and self-aggrandizement. Collective achievement and true bipartisanship are meritorious.
It does not matter WHO scores points with their claims that they finished what they started. There seems to be this desperate need to complete legislative packages because they were promised during unlived-up-to campaign promises, and no one seems to perceive that long term damage will result from short-term solutions.
Again, there must be a "deep-breath" approach and an altruistic and spiritualistic pause in the minds and souls of all of our leaders in every branch of our government. Taking seriously every word of the oath that is administered to the electoral or appointed victors who ascend to high office. There has to be no more scapegoating, and constant finger-pointing. Move forward, stop looking through every nook and cranny of the past for a place to lay the blame. The health care plan should start from scratch. Insurance companies should be subject to anti-trust legislation. The budget should be balanced. Funds designated for specific objectives should not be transferred to the general budget. Taxation should be incentive based. Business owners should not be afraid to hire more people because of the uncertainty of the effects of legislation. The morale of the CIA should not be weakened by unnecessary costly looks into prior practices. Totally damaging and desperate measures such as tort reform (which Nader aptly calls "tort DE-form" ) should not be advocated as a cure-all to health care costs, just because any or all of the foregoing sounded politically available.
And our people should have the feeling that their governmental leaders are truly listening to them, and not just patting them on the head while pursuing their own agendas.
It's all very simple, really. Each of them and us, just ask morning and night, of our own Source, what SHOULD we be doing? And then LISTEN for the answers. That's all. Not too tough, really.