Politics of Distraction

Much can be said of the current problems in Washington but is it the inherent nature of democracy that makes it messy since the breakdown of civil relation and bipartisanship between legislators. Long ago, veteran lawmakers reminisce about the old days in the 50’s, 60’s and even 70’s when bipartisan compromise and level headed thinking saved the day, a tradition started by Benjamin Franklin during the first meeting s of the constitutional congress. Some even recall warm friendships between members of opposing parties. This bring to mind the China model, devoid of democratic institutions wherein 2 parties battle each other for control of government with free exchange of ideas; instead managed like a conglomerate of technocrats but with the risk of corruption, innate in an unelected centralized government. But the tradeoff looks attractive day by day, just watching television, where the dramas of Washington plays out like a comedy in the cinema; the lone senator filibustering a bill but backs down and votes instead with the opposition, like a performance in a kabuki or an Indonesian shadow play where things play out at back stage while the overt players perform for the gullible public.

Sometimes it just seems like the death of common sense, an attribute that used to distinguish the New World colonies, now driven by ideologues, demagogues and inflexible principles goaded by muddy thinking. One thinks that the way forward are bipartisan entities like the Office of Budget and Management who fact check assertions and verify the truth. Instead it is a battle of inane ideas, more driven by emotion and funded by billionaires working in the background to keep their immense wealth. It is a shame that elected officials allows themselves to be led by these men in the back room who ask for pledges not to raise taxes, constricting common sense. No wonder this churning in government makes one want to pick up a weapon and start shooting anyone in sight; perhaps this is an important study, to see if the turmoil in government, played out through the media, affects the sanity of people sensitive to visual and auditory noise like political junkies checking news feeds to know what is going on to nourish their addiction.

In my case it is stress that causes distraction, to flee from the work at hand, trying to escape from responsibility that work entails, looking for an activity that can free the ego instead of solving the problem. This emotional reaction prevents one from following David Allen’s GTD principle, causing one to react to incoming emails with fear when one should just place the mail in the appropriate folder if one cannot respond within 2 minutes; organizing the reaction in a systemic way. One realizes it is emotion that derails one’s common sense, the way politicians react to seeming slights that result in gridlock, not moving forward in a calm and sensible manner. Get a grip on your mind – books would say, try journaling or deep breathing to ground one, instead of allowing one’s attention to take flight with thought bubbles; the curse of the monkey mind.  Journaling is calming, the steady rhythm of writing, a way to control the berserk electrical patterns coursing the brain into a more sensible and calm array like listening to Mozart when in turmoil; music soothing the savage mental beast. One thinks this is needed by the Washington politicians as their rivals - the Chinese politburo practice Tai Chi in their enclave within the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Indian Democracy

 One understands democracy intellectually, gained from political science classes and history lessons. But one never really understands it but one sees it in action in every day life. It is not the political conventions of the democrats and republicans or even the independents or tea party folks. It is not the primaries and all those noise about elections and talking heads filtering down from television and movies. It is in the way people interact to one another and the way ordinary folks get about organizing themselves and doing the every day business of living and solving problems. It’s actually a very amazing and subtle thing to see that it often escapes notice. Some people would say it all boils down to being an American which connotes a pioneering, can-do spirit.

It’s a concept that’s not fully understood with the head, in various intellectual permutations. It can only be understood with the heart, with the emotions, in the way people empathize with other people, to accept others the way they are with their weaknesses and strengths and to collectively overcome individual shortcomings to achieve a greater goal. One can equate democracy with elections and representation but the greater description is respect for others. Of course, it can be an exasperating experience where the noisy and prejudiced and the extremists are allowed an equal seat in the table. But it’s the collective that always win but without turning away those elements of dispute. They are allowed to live the way they wish in pursuit of their own happiness. 

There is a real danger of hijacking the collective will with fear and demagoguery and plain lies. So free press and education and good citizenry are important for democracy to work. There is a big difference with the Asian experience which is less democratic. Earlier this week, an Indian supplier made a crazy plan which one normally thinks would be laughed out by any sane person. But a meeting was held to discuss the crazy plan, to give every person a chance to have his say. Time was wasted but arguments were made, ideas where exchanged and everyone had his say. Now that is the most important thing to do – to speak up and be heard. It’s the foundation of living in a democracy to make sure your rights are protected – by simply speaking up.

So one participates in these meetings and so-called democracy comes into action. Letting each one have his say and let the mechanism of discussion, debate and critical thinking shape and filter the arguments and positions until a compromise is reached. It’s in these occasions that one understands the ‘concept’ of democracy. In Asia, the closest one can think of is Japan and the consensus reached by salary men in their endless meetings. One cannot make a decision in isolation, as someone would say, and all opinions have to be elicited and discussed and each one should speak up. It will not be in the marble halls of the Congress where democracy will survive but in small town halls and meeting rooms were ordinary folks meet to solve problems.   

Visit to Washington

Last week we spent 5 days in the capital. We stayed in a new hotel about 26 miles from the city, located in Sterling Virginia. The smallish hotel was near the Dulles airport. At that time, I did not know who the airport was named after– Allan Foster Dulles – the former CIA chief or his brother John Foster Dulles – the former Secretary of State. Due to the proximity of the CIA head quarters in nearby Langley Virginia, I originally thought that it would be the former CIA chief. But in fact, it was named after the former Secretary of State, dedicated by President John Kennedy in the 1960s.

Washington is one of the premier cities in the world. It reminds one of Paris and actually designed by a French man. But it also reminds me of Beijing with the large open spaces for the public but with more greenery especially in the Mall. I guess both governments intended it to be citizen’s spaces, where the general public would gather and express themselves.  In fact, most famous pictures of Washington are the Civil Rights and the Vietnam Veteran’s protest gathering in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It’s all about people protesting about the current government policies. Similarly, Tiananmen Square in Beijing is also the site of people’s protest although this one ended in bloodshed and repression.

Interestingly, Washington have memorials for slain leaders specifically Lincoln memorial and somber JFK tombstones in Arlington cemetery. There are no memorials for slain leaders in Beijing only of the people in Tiananmen Square. I wonder what this means. I guess one would say the one country has the ability to kills its leaders – a fact often mentioned by Mikhail Gorbachev in his day.  What does it mean when one can infer that Communist countries have societies that do not harm its leaders as compared to Democratic countries? Perhaps Democratic societies provide fewer bodyguards to their leaders or that they can freely meet with the people as compared to Communist ones.

But I digress. Washington has great museums that are free. These are world class museums that display priceless works or arts. I like the museum of art especially the East wing designed by I.M.Pei. But I still think it pales with the Getty Museum in Los Angeles though the works of arts in Washington are outstanding. There were masterpieces from Boticelli, El Greco, Rembrandt, Degas and many others that I did not expect to see here. Usually I would only see these works from art books. It is a liberating to see these great works for free. I guess it is the egalitarian power of the democracy that makes this possible. In fact, I don’t think the great museums in Paris are free. 

I never had a chance to drive in the streets of Washington as both my sons were at the wheel. It gave me a better view of surrounding scenes. I particularly liked driving through Georgetown, Du Pont Circle, around the White House and of course the Mall. I remember the view of the city atop Arlington, sitting in the porch of Arlington House. The drive back home through the Virginia countryside was also a nice experience. I understood for the first time what it feels like to be here after reading about it in the pages of novels or history books or watching scenes in movies. There is a majestic feeling walking in the streets, a feeling of power and history and greatness, especially when looking at the memorials of great men who died for their ideals. Somehow I also get a feeling of martial tendencies and of war and conquest and discipline that is also frightening.