When six Service members were murdered in Chattanooga, Tennessee last week by a young Muslim man inflamed by radical Islamist teachings, the usual outpouring of anger took place across the country. Along with the usual calls for revenge was another call that one often hears at trying times like this:
"Why doesn't the government do something?"
It's a good question without a satisfying answer.
The government doesn't "do something" for a lot of reasons. Here are a few:
1. Can you imagine Congress doing anything worthwhile, quickly?
2. Can you imagine Congress doing anything for which the President might get credit?
3. Many of the things that could be done involve intrusions into our privacy, which we absolutely hate unless it's done by big business or social media ... in which case it's okay.
As historian Will Durant once said, “One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.”
The last time the government did something in the heat of passion, we got the Patriot Act ... and we all know how well that worked out.
Have a good day. Always count to ten before doing anything stupid. And if you work for the government, count to a thousand. At least five times.
More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
Demanding immediate action leads decision-makers into bad decisions that sounded okay at first.
ReplyDeleteIf we are to "do something about it," then we have to get past this self-indulgent quest to make political capital out of darn near everything. And sometimes doing nothing is a good idea!
ReplyDeleteIt's paradoxical that some people expect government to be able to do everything. Some things may just be out of reach.
ReplyDeleteA good thing done by the government will have a hundred bad amendments attached to it.
ReplyDeleteCongress will not recognize a good idea even if they get bitten in the butt by it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! eViL pOp TaRt and Mike are both right, at least in my opinion.
ReplyDelete