Thoughts about ways to fail to act.

I rarely take action on anything. After watching tonight's presidential debate followed by Bill Moyers’ interview with Andrew Bacevich, I am still failing to act. But these are a few ideas I ought to explore.

Personal Position Statement
Political candidates have them. Nobody actually reads them, but it occurs to me that their value is as much for the author as for the reader. Deciding to codify and publish my positions on political questions and issues might actually force me to think them through, rather than tweak them on-the-fly for the convenience of a given conversation.

Personal Economic Responsibility Plan
It’s undeniable: we collectively live beyond our means. Am I contributing to the problem? How can I fix that? How can I encourage others to?

Core Values Statement
In my mind, “The American Way of Life” is a euphemism for all of our excesses and self-indulgences. What am I actually willing to fight for? What would I be willing to give up?

Diary of The Fall
Is it all ending? Will I witness first-hand the collapse of our nation, our global economy, civilization as we know it? What will people afterward want to know that I could tell them?

Petition of Permission
Politicians’ actions, when influenced by the public at all, seem driven by our lowest-common-denominator demands to address short-term grievances. Our collective long-term best-interests almost always suffer. (Lower gas prices now, or energy independence later?) If I were to draft a Petition of Permission to our representatives in government, offering tolerance for the short-term sacrifices necessitated by long-term solutions to big problems… would anybody else sign it? Would politicians listen? Would I even honor my part of the agreement?

Warrior Politicians
Which is more useful… an elected official who first-and-foremost works to stay in office, or one who fights the good fight once but pays the political price? We recognize the duty of our soldiers to die if necessary in defense of our freedom and national interests. Why do we not demand that our representatives in government make the infinitely smaller sacrifice of ‘political suicide’ when doing so might enable a policy victory worth having?