Talking politics now-a-days is something we all try to avoid. It is largely an embarrassment regardless of your perspective or side of the aisle. They say the nation is divided, when in fact, the actual divide comes between our media and the political class. I’m not sure that the average American is ready to go to war, but the media and our politicians are definitely fighting one.

We still do not have a Secretary of Agriculture two months after the President was inaugurated. This is absurd!  Whether it is politics, gamesmanship or incompetence is the biggest reason for the failure is irrelevant. Things like the fires that swept across the states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas are prime examples of why these people need to be in place and moving forward. 

Every single elected official may have loyalties to their party and the voters that elected them, but they also should represent all of their constituencies and be working for the greater good of the country. The fact that they are more focused on the next election and political maneuvering then the greater good, is not reflective of the failure of politicians as much as it is the failure of the electorate to hold them accountable and to send the message that enough is enough. 

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As cynical as it sounds, politicians are driven by dollars and votes; the media by dollars and ratings and it is the average citizen who controls both. The political class and media may be involved in their cultural wars and political posturing, but we have to come to grips with the fact that we are the enablers.

It is scary, but understandable, that as the games in Washington increase, the less likely the average citizen is to participate in the process. However, if we leave it to the politicians, the media and the extreme activists on both sides to be the drivers, then we shouldn’t be surprised if they keep taking us in a direction that does not move us forward, but rather drives us careening from one ditch to another.