COMMENTARY
Voters need to stop
oppressing politicians
Guest Commentary
Sanjai
Tripathi
There is something seri
ously wrong with politi
cians. They don't act like
real people. If they are
unhappy, they are not allowed to
frown or cry. They can't even say
what is really on their minds.
They are one of the most margin
alized classes of people in this
country. They are fully at the be
hest of the oppressive voters.
For example, in this state we have
a “budget crisis.” In real terms that
means there are not enough taxes to
pay for the government services we
currently have. If a politician could
be honest, he or she would tell us
that we will either have to raise tax
es, cut services or both.
In their oppressed world howev
er, they are not allowed to say that. If
a politician were to say that directly,
their job would be threatened, be
cause the demanding voters expect
to get everything for nothing. So,
politicians have to dress up taxes
and cuts in order to trick the voters.
Instead of raising income taxes in
our state, they are trying to cut the
state tax exemption for federal tax
payments. That's confusing isn't it?
In the end though, it's still just an in
come tax increase.
If politicians want to cut a spe
cific government service, they
must disguise it to sound like
nothing will happen. They say
they want to “reorganize” or “re
structure” or “increase efficiency.”
All it means is that they will cut
funding. There was a big “welfare
reform” program a few years ago
that cut costs significantly. To do
that the government stopped send
ing to unemployed people the
checks that would buy them food
and clothing.
My favorite buzzwords for cut
ting services are increasing “effi
ciency” and reducing “waste.” If
there really were blatant inefficien
cies and waste in government, the
politician would just come out and
say specifically what they think
should he cut. If they use the
above-mentioned buzzwords it
means they are just cutting the
budget and there will be fewer gov
ernment services. There is no state
bureau of waste and inefficiency
that we can simply eliminate every
election to balance the budget.
Politicians are not free to admit
to any mistakes. For example, if
candidates have used drugs, even
20 years ago, they can't just say it.
Instead they have to be like the last
two presidents. Either he “didn't
inhale,” or he has no comment.
Politicians are not allowed to get
divorced, because that would indi
cate a lack of family values.
In general politicians can't dis
like anything. If they visit the ultra
conservative Bob Jones University
one day, they must be in favor of
the kind of family values that for
bid racial mixing and homosexual
ity. Then if they meet the log cabin
liberals the next day, they must be
in favor of diversity and under
standing of different lifestyles.
Every politician has to simulta
neously love industry and the envi
ronment, teachers unions and ac
countability in education, farmers
subsidies and the free market. They
have to pretend that contradictions
don't exist. They have to tell us they
can clean the environment and re
duce greenhouse gases at no cost.
They have to pretend that oil will
last forever and stay cheap.
Sometimes they just have to
speak without saying anything at
all. They have to profess to have
values that are in reality totally
meaningless. A politician must
promise to provide leadership. He
or she has to be in favor of families.
They all must claim to be patriotic.
A politician has to promise to re
store fiscal discipline, support ed
ucation, and build partnerships
while avoiding partisanship. And
above all they have to be “for the
people.” If I was forced to babble
senselessly as much as the average
politician I would kill myself.
That is why they are oppressed.
The politicians are the most mar
ginalized people in America. Their
First Amendment rights to have
real opinions and state them are
being taken away by the threat of
losing their jobs.
The voters of America have to
stop being oppressors. They have
to learn that politicians are peo
ple. The voters must allow the
politicians to be honest, to have
opinions and tell us about them.
We have many bad things to say
about politicians, but they are not
to blame. The overlords, the ones
truly in charge, the voters, must
take responsibility for the charac
ter and behavior of people they
put in charge.
Sanjai Tripathi is a columnist and forum editor
for The Daily Barometer at Oregon State
University. His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of The Barometer staff or The
Emerald staff. Tripathi can be reached at
sanjaitripathi@netscape.net.
Letter to the editor
Emerald makes
people ignorant
I’m a reader of your magazine
(sic), mostly out of boredom at the
bus stop, but a reader nonetheless.
I’m routinely amazed at your in
ability to print things that actual
ly matter.
Let me point to your April 22
edition to explain my point. This
was the pinnacle of useless report
ing. Eighty percent of the front page
was taken up by an article on the
school cafeteria (“Rub a dub grub”).
We’re not in a news vacuum, and
the reporting on the cafeteria was
one more example of why the pub
lic is so ignorant.
On Page 6, the Emerald covered
Michael Moore’s visit to the Uni
versity ("Political satirist pokes fun
at some ‘stupid white men’”).
Moore is a person whose political
views parallel those of many Uni
versity students and, furthermore,
is working to expose political
wastes, government cover-ups and
corruption. In his book, “Stupid
White Men,” he has a chapter on
how stupid Americans are. Yet, the
Emerald put him on Page 6, next to
pizza coupons, classified ads and
crossword solutions.
The Emerald is contributing to
the ignorance of America by not re
porting on news that is important.
I’m not saying students don’t eat,
but in our society, where most of
our time is spent watching sitcoms
and mind-numbing television for
hours on end, can the Emerald re
port on something important for us
to read while we wait for the bus?
Landon Tucker
Eugene
IPNOSI. 1022 Willamette . eugene, or . 541345.7028
13793
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