posted June 26, 2005

Politics is not complex, not for me. The machinations people go through in the political arena only complicate their own lives and minds. The difficult decisions, for me, have little to do with deciding which policy is preferable, which endgame to play, whose candidacy to support. Machiavelli saw all the trees and completely missed the forest; it's really quite simple.

I evaluate politics on simple factor, one variable, one condition. Granted, there are a huge number of issues and factors to consider overall, but really it does all come down to a single criteria, and one that is terrifically easy to measure. An advanced degree in global economics is actually counterproductive, as is a career in the military or the diplomatic field. All that is needed, as the saying goes, are "eyes to see". And a heart that functions.

How are the children doing? That's it. Most of the bullshit that gets argued about in politics is irrelevant to the welfare of children. They don't vote, they don't lobby, the don't contribute, they don't buy arms, they don't build factories, they don't ship jobs to Taiwan or create them in McMinnville, they don't demand improved highways or grain subsidies, they don't negotiate for land reform in Third World nations, they don't wage war over ancient idiocies. Children play and learn and grow. Those are their only jobs, the only things they really do well. They eat their meals, do some household chores, care for siblings, and try to enjoy their lives. A relatively easy gig, when they are allowed to follow that natural course.

How easy for us to evaluate their performance. Are they eating nutritous meals on a regular basis, or are the enjoying a handful of rice every other day? Do they have nice clothing to wear, including shoes that protect their feet, or are they clothed in rags most Americans wouldn't use to wipe the road muck off their car? Do they run and play and have a great time, or are they busy working as slaves on chocolate plantations, or for pennies a day in sweatshops, or learning how to be a whore in some big city? Do they have a nice bed at night in a safe home with loving parents, or do they fight rats for a dry cardboard box to share with their fellow street orphans? Do they get to go to school and learn to read and write, or have they been blown into more pieces than God can recognize by bombs dropped in freedom's name?

Howard Dean was misquoted as saying he hates Republicans. What he hates, and what I hate, are the politicians and powerbrokers of this nation and the world who play games with the lives of innocents, especially children. Politics is a simple thing: Are we using our resources and power to ensure that all children, in all lands, are safe and healthy and happy? Or do we just not give one good damn? The politicians who can make up any excuse -- any excuse whatsoever -- as to why we must tolerate the way millions of children live (if you can call that living), those are the politicians who have failed. They are the politicians who must go.

It is as simple as that.