Jon Stewart with some wise words…
This past election has upped my cynicism a lot…and it was already taller than Everest. I have long believed, and I'm sure I've said it elsewhere on this blog, that about 98% of all politicians say "I will do what is best for this country" and then they decide that what is best for them is best for this country. That was the conclusion I arrived at back in the mid-seventies when I read every book that was then available, written from every conceivable set of prejudices, about Richard Nixon.
Stewart is right that some of our "leaders" tell us government doesn't work, do everything they can to make it not work, then point to their own sabotage and say, "See? Government doesn't work." My cynicism runs deeper than that even. I think when people say "Government doesn't work," their real complaint is "It keeps doing things to benefit people who are not me!" They're always fine with what serves their interests. They just have trouble with the premise that government is supposed to work for everyone.