If US Is Going In Wrong Direction, Who's Driving?

Most Americans think the US is going in the wrong direction. Most here is like 5 out of every 6 people. The good side of this perception is that the nation is united in their pessimistic views; that must have some beneficial effect, right?

If only things were that simple.

Showing that those who think the nation is going in the wrong direction doesn’t really tell you much is very easy to do; just as it is for those who think it is going in the right direction doesn’t. Regardless of which group you see yourself being in, I will show you that you really are not in that group. The best way to accomplish this of course is to start with a short test.

These questions relate to the ‘direction’ that the US currently moving in.

Question 1: On which of the following is the US’s direction wrong (i.e., economy, inflation, politics, jobs, wages, energy, competitiveness, national security, public health, education, public safety, law enforcement, equality, protection of rights)?

Question 2: For those areas which you think the nation is moving in the “wrong” direction, who do you think is to blame? For each group pick who’s to blame. A. President, Administration, Congress, Supreme Court, none of these B. Democrats, Republicans, Both Ds & Rs, voters, everyone C. Corporations, financial institutions, all businesses, employees, consumers, none of these D. Political parties, Social-media providers, news-media entities, Big Tech, none of these E. Foreign governments, foreign terrorist groups, domestic terrorist groups, none of these F. Religious groups, Ethnic groups, Urban/Rural/Suburban groups, Wealthy/Upper/Middle/Lower income groups, none of these

Question 3: For those areas which you think the nation is moving in the “right” direction, who do you think should be credited with that achievement? Use the same categories from Question 2.

Question 4: Who would you turn to to ‘fix / change’ the direction(s) that the US needs to correct? A. An individual B. A politician C. A political party D. Experts in relevant fields E. Voters F. You don’t know

Question 5: What is the reason that the political leaders for the last two or three decades have been unable to provide solutions that solve, avoid, or effectively manage what the US ought to be doing to put the nation on the “right” path?

Beware! You are entering the area where “there be answers here”.

Answer to Question 1: It’s hard to believe that you didn’t have at least one where you think the US is going in the wrong direction. The right answer is: All. The rationale supporting this assessment is fundamentally based upon our political parties and politicians. Given the inane internally focused, navel-gazing self-interest adherence to ideological beliefs; the nation’s politics doesn’t actually deal with our issues in any intelligent nor informed manner. Rather, politics is just focused upon achieving and maintaining political power and dominance. Those elected have little if any competence in the areas that would be relevant to understanding the issues and problems facing the nation. How then are they going to be able to productively set policies that deal with our issues?

Answer to Question 2: Again, the answer here should be much easier than you probably thought. For every group the answer would be all except for “none of these”.

Answer to Question 3: Like the answers to question 2 but much easier, the answer is None. This seem like a disingenuous answer, but “thinking” the country is moving in the “right” direction doesn’t mean that it is. Thus, crediting anyone with it presumes that you are correct in the nature of that direction. Before you can award ‘credits’ you have to justify that your assessment is valid and then that those responsible for it are in fact the ones who deserve that ‘credit’. You may be right, but you haven’t proven that you are.

Answer to Question 4: Either D or F are acceptable answers. Any of the other choices are more indicative of why the nation has so many of the problems and issues that we have. Of course, the D choice is itself problematic since agreeing on who the “experts” are and which ones to follow contains the same partisan vulnerabilities, especially the corruptive political biases that would be involved. What is needed is a STEM-oriented process(es) that incorporate responsibility and accountability criteria; attributes which are almost completely missing from our current approaches to leadership, governance, and politics.

Answer to Question 5: Our politicians and political parties are oriented on power, control, and obedience to ideological belief systems which are not focused on or motivated to solving problems and issues. Additionally, politics and political parties have evolved into more religious/cult-ish entities than functional governance-oriented entities. Rather than being composed of individual representatives of their respective constituencies who serve those citizens’ interests, politicians are subservient to the party and the constituents are there to support the party and the party’s interests.

What is the ”Right” Direction?

To put the nation on the “right” direction requires that we define what the “right” direction is. This is where our politics mostly fails us, and where we fail ourselves. As with choosing our political leaders, we accept what is easy, convenient, and without merit. Simple notions, slogans, and mottos are plentiful but meaningless. Those offering these ‘cotton-candy’ solutions are as unfulfilling and insubstantial as the slogans and non-ideas they offer.

The “right” direction requires doing the work necessary to define and develop solutions. It requires that responsibilities and accountability be part of the efforts that taking those directions demand. We also must demonstrate that we are moving toward the goals and ends that those “right” directions promised to accomplish, and if we are not progressing to those goals then we must recognize and admit that there is something “wrong” with the “right” direction and path that we are on.