Playing both sides against the middle
Matt Pearl
You shouldn’t play both sides against the middle, or so I was taught as a young man. The practice of using two opposing sides against one another to benefit oneself personally is, simply put, a fancy way of deceiving others.
My learning experience on the subject came in my early life, when I would go from mom to dad, dad to mom, asking permission to do something. When the first would answer ‘no,’ I would ask for a ‘yes’ from the other. Getting caught in such a practice had dire consequences around our home.
Yes, I got that out of my system at a young age, but we have among us in society folks who make adult practice of using the sympathies of two competing viewpoints to elevate their own social standing. We call them politicians. How can a single candidate for office promise the rich what they want to hear, while making the poor an offer they can’t refuse? I’ll not say that there cannot exist a plan that is mutually beneficial for the two economic extremes, but it seems more complicated than a few slick campaign promises could possibly resolve.
My intent is not to proceed with a generic-condemnation of all devious promise-makers, or a scathing commentary on the dishonesty of politicians. I have done enough of that in the past, and will certainly seek such opportunities again in the future.
No, today the onus needs to be upon you and me. My mother and father would not permit me to use them against one another as I selfishly sought the things I wanted. As my parents had mastery over me when I lived in their home, we must remember an important fact:
Members of our government live in our home – on our land, in our public buildings and upon salaries we pay them – and we are indisputably the masters of the home.
While I was shooting off fireworks Monday evening in my yard in anticipation of the Fourth of July, I was thinking about safety, fire, loud pops and fun. But during the holiday, I (like all of you, I hope) also pondered the more important topic of freedom, and the American system which allows liberty to thrive (hopefully) perpetually.
The power that drives the consent of the governed give you and me authority over the tenants of our local, state and national offices of leadership. When candidates vying for such offices try to turn Americans against one another, and do so in the hope that division will create a solid constituency for said candidate on one side of the issues or the other, then we have the society against which President Washington warned.
Washington surely knew that Americans would have differing opinions and viewpoints on the issues, and that sides would naturally form to express such ideas. But the formation of parties was a fear of his, because he understood the ability not only for citizens to become entrenched in their views, but for politicians to exploit division to create an overly emotional, fight-to-the-death constituency.
And we’re all guilty, but we need not be complacent in our current political situation. The major parties aren’t going anywhere, folks; but it would be appropriate if the landlords of our national home –– you and I –– would exert more authority against our elected officials.
We ought, like good stewards of this land (or like good parents in the home), to insist that our leaders not turn to partisan tricks to turn us against one another. They do so in the hope that we, while fighting one another over ideological differences, will either mindlessly support them as fellow party members, or ignore their actions out of disapproval and disgust. In our houses, children are beneficiaries of the home’s prosperity, but mom and dad have the role of landlords. Remember the power we the people possess over our political tenants.
Matt Pearl owns and operates newspapers in King City, Albany, and Grant City.
