If the era of Donald Trump has taught us anything, it is that America wants a different brand of political leadership. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this means petty and corrupt, but I think it means candidates and ideas that break the mold. That’s why it’s always disconcerting to see Democratic and Republican leaders suppress innovators and young trailblazers in their own parties. @AOC would be a bartender today if she followed the advice of her party leaders and just waited her turn. One of the reasons talented people avoid public office is that it takes decades to have any real influence. That is especially true in the United States Congress where it typically takes 20+ years to become a committee chair or a member of the party leadership. There are a lot of things wrong with our political system, and out of date customs and stodgy leadership is certainly one of them. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and am convinced that politics, like business, benefits from disruption; The political party that creates systemic processes which encourage innovation and disruption rather than the preservation of the status quo will attract the best talent to their tent and will thrive in the coming decades.
Inflation has impacted all of us. The price of almost everything has spiked faster and harder than at any time since the 80s. Few things can obliterate a modern economy more than out-of-control inflation.
For most people, there is little upside to writing about the January 6th hearings, but as you probably know by now, I don’t worry about those things. We all must stand for something. The hearings have almost everyone taking sides before a single witness is called. Democrats believe that the events of January 6th were a calculated effort to undermine our democracy by demolishing two of the most sacred tenants of our nation, free elections, and the peaceful transition of power.
Most people consider themselves either a conservative or a liberal. I think if we forget political parties, which flip their positions on things all of the time, and instead focus on the actual definition of what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a liberal, we might be able to temper the emotional reactions some of us have with political discourse.