I was a Sesame Street fan when I was a kid. I still believe the messages of sharing, friendship, manners espoused by the children's television program are still valuable to this day, and it's hard to believe they were all brought to you by the letter "L". As adults, we all know of course this is not the case. Sesame street like many other educational programs on Public Broadcasting are bright to you by government funding from taxpayer dollars. As are many other services.
In the first presidential debate, we heard a few off handed comments concerning PBS and Big Bird that have been animatedly over exaggerated by both political campaigns and the blogosphere. In doing so the media has lost the central argument behind the infamous Kill Big Bird comment. In fact, I think the comment itself encompasses the central issue in this election. While polling and the media would have you believe that the economy is the #1 issue, and it is certainly important, I find that the difference in policy prescriptions between the two candidates actually direct themselves to another argument that has raged since this nation's origins, of which the economy is effected by.
What is in question in the election of 2012 is the central role of government in society. What is government's purpose?What are government's appropriate responsibilities? And not whether big government is good or bad but rather what constitutes as big government? We can hear a lot of rhetoric coming from the Republican Party regarding their self proclaimed status as the party of small government. But frankly, the idea is ludicrous. After all, the Patriot Act, The War on Drugs, and Medicare D were all brought to you by the party "R". Several individuals in this country perceive the Defense of Marriage Act, Pro Life policies, and the recent wave of election laws sweeping Republican ruled states as examples of an abuse of government power to fit the ideology of some at the expense of the rights of others. It makes perfect sense that in recent years, movements such as the Tea Party and the Ron Paul campaign would seek to remove the current Republican establishment and supplant it with something more libertarian.
I personally find both alternatives unappealing. In recent years we have witnessed societal instability due to bank failures, economic crisis, and deficits. But what has been accused as the cause? Within the past 4 years, aggression has been targeted on government expenditures, and a specific few, the small proportion of expenditures employed to provide investment in public welfare and education as well as safety nets for those Americans who cannot help themselves in a time of economic turmoil. On the other hand, for over decade now outrageous tax cuts for the wealthy have been left unaltered. I recognize that the public has a narrow sense of recent history and is easily forgetful, but it is helpful to remind Americans that it was these tax cuts that sprouted the current deficit in the first place.
But nonetheless, a slight majority of Americans believe the deficit can be solved without altering Social Security and Medicare or dramatically decreasing the bloated size of our military budget and by cutting taxes as well. It is simple as one, two, three, get rid of Obamacare, PBS/NPR, and Planned Parenthood. This solution will provide o progress. Getting rid of a deficit this size isn't easy, it requires sacrifices from everyone. It requires higher taxes for both the Upper and Middle Classes, it requires massive cuts in the military, and a complete reform of our nation' entitlement system. But instead of a united effort, we have only heard calls for a solution through separation. In fact, the very idea of creating a better community through a united effort has been incorrectly labeled as socialism.
While public sector pensions, unemployment benefits, and public broadcasting have been marketed as excess, mass consumerism, tax cuts, and and petroleum subsidies have been defined as the elements of progress. As a nation we must recognize that we cannot buy ourselves out of a crisis by the "virtues" of greed and self interest.
What really is the goal here in taking this approach to government? In my observation, it is a fundamental demolition of our system of governance, and a complete disintegration of our cohesion as a union. If I were a public official I would certainly be loathed for admitting this, but this country needs government. I trust a publicly elected body to make decisions on public welfare, education, and civic infrastructure far more than I do a group of shareholders primarily concerned with an efficiency that must result in maximum net profits as opposed to maximum public good. This doesn't make me a socialist, a communist, or even a progressive.
I think this makes me a citizen. PBS, NPR. Food stamps, and Medicaid funded by taxation all provide a sense of duty to our nation no less important than military service or the purchase of war bonds. It provides a mechanism for citizenship and community, which is the primary element of a nation-state and humanity in general. What does it mean to be a people? A number of suburban units only concerned with their purchased property? That merely surmounts to animal nature apparent within any other grouping multi cellular organisms. Even Adam Smith admitted that a nation made up of only shop keepers would fail to succeed.
As humans we are inherently political, and desire the exchange of ideas in public life, and the security that government provides. In the modern world, threats are more fluid and global as well as local. If anything, government should be made more efficient as opposed to smaller. Conservatives will argue that all a government requires in this regard is basic police enforcement and a military. But such precautions only cover a limited amount of threats. Hunger, desperation, economic oppression, and ignorance are equally dangerous since they are internal rather than external. They are harder to recognize and easier to dismiss. Without the sense of union and community that government provides the result is separation and a boiling distrust and hatred for the other side.
This a nation does not make. From the civil war, to the workers riots of the 1910s-1930s, to the violence that erupted from the civil rights movement, history has taught us that if government fails to intervene in preventing injustice, civil disobedience is forsaken for anarchy. As for education, a democracy cannot function without an educated polis. PBS, NPR and yes Big Bird all contribute to public education as well as community cohesion. I firmly believe that President Obama approaches the the role of government pragmatically in effort to provide unity and enforce community ethics we all hold as Americans. No one should be denied the right to succeed because college is too expensive or because they cannot afford their medical bills. This is the audacity the president alludes to in his speeches and ideals. It is not a desire to impose big government but rather smart governance. Smart governance is government that knows when to intervene for the sake of protection of its citizens, and when to abstain from involvement for the sake of the civil rights of it's citizens.
Proposals of Smart Governance:
Government must respond to the past decades of greed and recklessness in the banking sector by imposing new laws and restrictions. Government must respond to the challenges of environmental destruction by removing subsidies for all energy industries and imposing carbon taxes on gasoline and coal to encourage the use of cleaner energy sources. Government must respond to the poor performance of US primary education scores on international assessment tests by investing in skilled teachers, encouraging study of foreign languages, expanding the role of the arts, and most importantly fostering in our public schools what makes America so great; the free exchange of ideas which will lead to creativity and ingenuity. Government must respond to the growing mountains of student debt that separate young Americans from joining the ranks of the Middle Class by providing more grants and lowering the interest rates of student Pell and Stafford loans. Government must respond to the decadence of our national healthcare system by crafting a national plan that pools America's citizens into an insurance community so that those who need insurance most are not denied coverage. Government should also encourage preemptive healthcare by providing parks for recreation, personal fitness programs in our schools to avoid obesity, and healthier food initiatives such as Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign. Government must respond to the coming entitlements crisis by crafting a solution that will require equitable sacrifices from all citizens young and old, and Americans have certainly proven able to do so in the past. Government must respond to the immigration crisis this country faces by employing humility and understanding as opposed to vigilance and wrath. Government must respond to the wave of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans coming home to a slim jobs market with devastating health problems by insuring they receive the best publicly funded care and, if needed, publicly funded secondary education to pursue the career of their choice. The government must respond to the challenges of an increasingly uncertain Middle East, unstable Euro Zone, offensive Russia, and influential East Asia by employing our armed forces pragmatically rather than liberally and expanding our soft power through aid, diplomacy, and trust as opposed to force and paranoia.
Government must not be used as a tool for religious persecution and cultural purity. Government must not be used as a reactionary cog in a clock that turns back time. Government must not be used to promote the sale of prescription drugs while simultaneously suppressing the use of natural and cheaper alternatives. Government must not be used to define abstract concepts such as marriage and God. Government must not be used as a tool to prevent the participation of minorities and the poor in the political process in the name of preventing so called voter fraud. Government must not be used to define how someone can use and understand their body be they male or female. Government must not be used to invade other nations without reason or moderation. Government mud not approach statecraft with the maturity of a school yard bully. Most importantly, government should not be used as a scalpel to separate us as partisans, muslims, atheists, christians, aliens, 47 percent free loaders, or 1 percent snobs. It should be used as forum to unite us as citizens and as Americans.
As a result, America will continue to provide more opportunity than any nation on the planet because we dare to believe in a society where everyone benefits through the creativity and ingenuity of our citizens. We can build a nation that continues to rival all others if we invest in long term solutions to combat present challenges. Taxpayer spending in public education and general welfare contribute to this brighter future, and as a member of the current generation of youth I can safely say we have more to lose than most in this election. We lose our right to the pursuit of happiness once we ignore our duty as citizens to preserve that pursuit for all Americans. So think twice before you vote to kill Big Bird. As Thomas Jefferson once said "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
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