I had a bizarre idea today. It started with my lamenting that working and middle class people tend to vote against their own economic self-interests. It's the secret weapon of the ultra-wealthy... If the American legend of self-made wealth that's purely the result of hard work and bootstraps continues, poor and working class people will continue to believe that they have a shot at being the 1% and thus will vote for policies that protect that 1%.
It was all downhill from there.
Then I started remembering friends who were frustrated by their voting choices. I had a college friend who was progressive and would generally identify with the Democratic party, but she was Catholic and opposed to abortion. A second friend was also progressive and pro-Palestinian. She didn't believe that a Democratic president would be effective in achieving justice in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. I too have had trouble getting excited about the candidates on hand from time to time. I long for a nonviolent presidential candidate who's not afraid of take on the military-industrial complex and the prison lobby.
What if (my next thought and the big bizarre leap) we could vote for a president on individual issues without the distractions of rhetoric and personality?
Following this to its crazy next step, here's my idea for a political science fiction thriller blockbuster. Scientists are able to isolate the genes for certain political attributes. Using a library of DNA from past leaders, we assemble a cloned president whose every policy stance reflects the votes of the majority. No longer would voters be distracted by slogans and fear-mongering. Individual voters would participate in a kind of political personality test to discern their thoughts on various issues: foreign policy, morality, economics, foreign aid, abortion, the death penalty, leadership style, civil rights, environmental protections, and the regulation of industry. The personal failings that have been troublesome for past presidents and presidential candidates are de-selected: no addictions or sexual indiscretions or poor financial decisions.
A consortium of artists and psychiatrists would advise the scientists regarding the President's personality. What colors does the President prefer? Does he smoke cigars on occasion? Does she drink Scotch or a martini at the end of a hard day? What kind of music does the President listen to?
Is the President male or female? Black or white? I've thought of a couple of options: random gene selection, a gene mixed based on the current population, alternating male and female every eight years...
After this scenario, the movie's actual plot is less interesting. Maybe a terrorist infiltrates the scientists and adds a gene sequence for schizophrenia into the DNA soup that becomes the next President. Could be fun. The real question is (I'm holding up my sign - "Now I'm being serious") how can our political processes encourage reflection and thoughtful voting? How can we identify candidates with views outside the narrow spectrum of what's expedient and give those candidates a shot at framing the issues? How can we take fear and rhetoric and 'I'm tough on X' out of our national political conversations and get real?
Have a great weekend.
Interesting thoughts ... food for the future ... Probably need to pass on your idea to someone who can develop into a novel and then a movie. I'll be waiting for the end result!
Posted by: Pastor Jim martin | 10/22/2011 at 02:18 AM