Collecting Thoughts

I spend a lot of time these days collecting my thoughts. I don’t do much with them -- but I collect them. Perhaps one day...

I think much on civil service. Which, of course, means I spend much time thinking of government. This Presidential election will be the first in which I’ve been able to fully participate in 25 years. Federal employee’s political activities are restricted by the Hatch Act.

I was searching around the internet for some insightful quotes on government. Despite having choices ranging from Adams to Solzhenitsyn, this one best fit my current mode of thinking.

“Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair."

--George Burns

Are comedians the sages of our times ? I’ve taken to calling Jon Stewart the smartest man on TV. It isn’t true is it ? And if it is, what does that say about us as a nation ?

I always considered Ted Koppel the smartest news anchor of late. And he never earned a slot of his own as the anchor of one of the major networks. Looking at the media as a whole these days I’m reminded of the same question we ask ourselves every Presidential election: Is this the best we have ? Is this the best we can do ?

Now there’s a policy question to chew on. If those mysterious “market forces” are driving all the smart people into private enterprise who’s going to run the government ? The dumb people ? What’s that all-knowing, all-seeing, omnipotent “market” going to do about that ? U.S.A , Inc. ? God forbid.

Think about it.

Don Brown
July 17, 2007