Politics draws a wide variety of reactions from the populace in the United States from rapt attention to utter disdain.
We all offer reactions of some significance, or, a purposeful complete avoidance. There is good reason for each reaction.
Politics is a part of our lives and always will be a part of the day. We do ourselves a service by having some understanding, even with remote partisanship.
Tuesday events this week were historical.
Bottom line is better we observe politics than the direct opposite: War and physical chaos as the alternatives to voting, discussion, and thoughtful differences.
A democratic republic, the essence of only a few countries, most notably the United States, is difficult to maintain, however, the best method of advancing each day and each year.
Some observers may see the vote in the House of Representatives Tuesday of this week as messy, a disservice to democracy, and a negative stain on the United States. Actually, the vote to remove then-Speaker of the U.S. House, Kevin McCarthy, was historical in that it was the first time the House voted out the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. Nonetheless, it was democracy in action. Whatever mistakes McCarthy made, or, was perceived to have made to delay the process of keeping the government from shutting down, or, acted too slowly, he spoke in the evening of being ready to move on following the vote and said he will stay on course to be a cause for good measures as a member of the House in future months.
The historic vote was 216-210 in favor of McCarthy’s removal with 10 Republican Party members voting against removal and all of the voting Democratic Party members voting for his removal. There will be months of views and overviews of what took place Saturday through Tuesday ending this week. College, high school, and graduate level courses will dissect, probe, explain, and allow commentary of the process which took place through Tuesday of this week. It may be good, bad, indifferent at times, however, in the long run we see the process as true democracy and we should be grateful for the experience. Some U.S. citizens may want to bury their heads because it is messy, egocentric, selfish, other negative orientations, or, time-consuming, or demand an apparent opinion to be formed, however, in essence it was true democracy on display.
The opposite in other countries may be dictatorships, military revolution, physical chaos, and constant threat of social upheaval. Or, those threats, common in countries lacking in true democracy, may seemingly keep the peace, however, never be imbued with a thriving democracy.
There is a good reason the United States of America is the oldest democracy. For all of the perceived U.S. imperfections, and for all of the real imperfection in the U.S. government, we are blessed to be in our position, and to continue with deliberation, respect, and for always looking for a better way to good government.
Other items along the way:
First, reactions sent to The Voice from two members of the U.S. Congress on the above topic: Removal of US. Speaker Kevin McCarthy:
- Sean Casten: “Thankfully, House Democrats were able to force Speaker McCarthy to leave the far-right extremists in his Party behind and work towards a bipartisan solution to avert a shutdown, provide critical disaster relief, and keep the government open. That said, the bill we passed is not a permanent solution, but, rather a 45-day reprieve that will allow us to keep working to pass legislation to fully address the needs of he American people and our allies.”
- Bill Foster; “I am relieved Speaker McCarthy finally chose to work with Democrats in the interest of the American people instead of small group of far-right extremists. This situation has made it clear that the fringe of the Republican conference isn’t interested in functional government.”
We live to do better another day.
• DuPage County awarded scholarships totaling $30,000 to 11 residents through its Community Services Block Grant Scholarship program. Each person received between $1,500 an $4,000 based on financial need, academic achievement, involvement, and employment. A list of scholarship recipients and their stories are available at http://videos.dupagecounty.gov/CSBGWinners2023.mp4.