America was never meant to be like this

It would be nice to get some facts as we all try to wade through the war of words that has become the current national debate over changing health care. It would be nice, but I do not really expect anything to change until this matter actually goes to a vote in Congress.

Until that bright and shining day comes, we will continue to allow the harsh, loud voices to embarrass this nation and its citizens by a calculated disregard for the honor and civility that has, until now, set America apart from much of the rest of the world.

From its very inception, America was supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. It was a land where anyone who played by the rules was supposed to not only survive, but thrive. The “American Dream” was based on equality and justice for all.

That was, of course, just a theoretical ideal. America has always been a place where the poor and helpless have had to struggle for every gain that was made. That has been the sad nature of humanity throughout history.

That being said, America was supposed to be a shining new example of what democracy could accomplish — a place where all could be heard and honorable people could disagree honorably.

I wonder where the honor is in having someone call the president of the United States a liar on the floor of House of Representatives during a joint address to Congress. Is this not the sort of behavior we have some to expect from nations that we always considered to be less “civilized” than our own? What happened to the notion of respect for the office, regardless of who might be sitting in the White House at any particular moment in history?

Some of you may have forgotten that this is still America. The man sitting in the Oval Office was chosen by a majority of this nation’s citizens in a fairly held election. Look around the rest of the globe. Not every human being has the right to choose his or her leader. There are still places where dictators and monarchs rule, and disrespect of any kind can bring harsh, swift punishment — and in the most extreme cases, death.

What we have now is the result of a flawed line of reasoning that equates politics as war. The practitioners of this political doctrine conclude that winning is all that counts, hence anything is fair. All rules of fairness and decency are thrown out the window and lies, cheating and slander become the order of the day.

The ultimate goal of modern politics is not to make you an informed citizen, one capable of making your own choices. Instead, the goal is to confuse you into thinking that someone else is always more capable of making a better decision than you yourself could.

The extreme ends of the political spectrum have become so obsessed with winning that, at times, it would appear that they have lost their collective minds. For example, being opposed to having an American president addressing this nation’s schoolchildren with a message designed purely to encourage them to study, work hard and achieve their dreams is sheer lunacy. What person in their “right” mind should not want that for our children?

However, it would be unfair to heap all of the blame for our current state of confusion on the politicians. The media, with its 24-hour news cycle, is just as much to blame as the liars and malcontents. It is a simple equation — the media thrives on controversy. Reporting actual facts is hard, but showing blowhards arguing with each other is easy, so that’s what you and I get — constantly. A lot of these folks do not let the truth get in the way of their own point of view.

Here are some simple facts. The Democrats are now the party in power. The Republicans do not like being out of power. The big insurance companies give out millions every election in campaign contributions. It is this money that buys votes through advertising. Everyone making decisions about your health care is elected — and their main job is to stay elected. What you need and what “they need” do not always match up. You do the math.

With so many voices clamoring to be heard, the one sure way to get attention is to say or do something so absolutely ridiculous that you make headlines. Don’t you think for a moment that some of the loudest, most absurd voices do not have their own agendas — most of the time it is to advance their own careers.

America deserves better, because as a nation, we are better than that — or at least we were always supposed to be.

* Fisher, of Danville, is a businessman, documentary filmmaker and freelance writer and is the former bureau chief for KDFW, a CBS affiliate in Fort Worth, Texas. Contact him at hubpages.com/profile/Promethean+Fire