Politics as Theatrics

In August the media showed case after case of town meetings exploding in heated arguments and screaming matches. It looked like the world was coming to an end. The media was selling "a story". That was "politics as theatrics".

Here's a different viewpoint on politics. This video shows Al Franken, the new senator from Minnesota, talking to people. No yelling, no threats, no crazies. This doesn't get shown in the media because it is "boring". But it is a very good example of real politics. A dialog between a representative and his constituents. You can see that there are disagreements but both sides are listening. This is how it should be done.



If this never makes it into "the news", how will people ever believe that their government actually works? How will they understand that representatives are not puppets run by interest groups and beyond their control. People need to see this to understand that their representative has a viewpoint but they can have dialog. Viewpoints can change with an exchange of facts and opinions. Good politics is the art of compromise, the working within the limits that the real world imposes.

Watching this video is almost enough to convince me that we should limit election of representatives to only those comedians who have had successful careers. It looks like getting up in front of crowds and having to entertain teaches some good political skills of listening.