You’ve Heard of IT, How about ID

The Congressman from the Illinois 8th ranted on and on one day on the value of the family in his approach to policy. This from a guy who is over $150,000 in arrears on his child support.

The congresswoman from the Washington 8th is a charter member of the GOP Women’s Caucus. In a recent interview, she proclaimed that her party and these women were standing up for the rights of women across America. The Caucus membering twenty-four has the following recent voting record: twenty-two voted against the renewal of the Violence Agianst Women Act; twenty-one voted against insurance coverage for birth control for women; fifteen voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and thirteen of that fifteen voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act.

The Congressman from the Ohio 8th literally screamed on the floor of the House that the Administration had produced no jobs bills while the House had sent numerous to the Senate which were blocked. The facts – the Senate failed to pass the Administration’s Jobs Act because of a filibuster by the Republican members on a procedural issue ; the House sent twelve bills to the Senate for approval but none was a jobs bill. All were bills focused on deregulation.

The presidential candidate from Pennsylvania, a self proclaimed conservative Christian and a Catholic, while espousing his so called ” faith based pro life” posture, was high on the idea of attacking Iran and reengaging in Iraq. Does his pro life stance end at birth ?

A well known Baptist minister living in Florida , while  strong on his  “christian conservative values ” is set against universal access to health care, decries the current President for supporting insurance for birth control for medical reasons and still maintains a close association with one David Barton,  a well known and  avowed Christian extremist who reportedly believes that only Christians should be permitted to hold public office and that Jews should not

The Congressman from the Wisconsin 1st District, Chair of the House Budget Committee, has proffered a budget for F Y 2013 which eliminates Medicare as we know it, privatizes Social Security, cuts billions from federal retirement benefits, eliminates federal unemployment benefits, cuts billions from Medicaid while reformatting it into block grants to states, cuts Food Stamps by  billions,  and calls for the repealing the Affordable Care Act, which would cause denying access to heath care for millions. All this singularly vanishing the safety net for millions and his agenda is, according to him,  in concert with his Catholic faith.

The examples of these contradictions could go on and on and are not limited to one party or the other, even though these days, the GOP seems to be so much front and center and in your face with it all.  These are not only contradictions in many ways but Intellectually Dishonest  -that I D thing – in epidemic proportion.

In academia, the term “intellectual dishonesty” is exhibited when one’s personal beliefs interfere with the pursuit of the truth; when relevant facts are purposefully omitted if they contradict the hypothesis ; when the facts are presented in a consciously misleading way to advance a theory.

In the “Urban Dictionary”, ID is defined as “…advocacy of a positon known to be false ; an argument misused to advance an agenda in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary”.

Webster’s Unabridged defines “intellectual” as a rational person who relies on intellect rather than emotion. It defines “dishonesty” as a lack of honesty, having a disposition to lie and cheat. In short, Fraud.

While this lack of character is found in virtually all sectors of our world, it takes a particularly prominent place in the world of politics.

I would submit that this condition is so pervasive on all levels that it  jeopardizes the entire political system, such as it is. It is beyond a sad state of affairs. It is bordering on criminal, especially when one considers the stakes and the price paid for these tactics. Evidence the invasion of Iraq !

Now I don’t purport to have an answer on this one. I am not certain there actually is one. Society has been plagued with this forever and, truth be know, we all have a share at one time or another on one instance or another. However, in the public sector among elected officials, the level of dishonesty has reached intolerable proportions and I hold that the best way to remedy at least some portion of this is to continue to expose those preeminently guilty of it. I am not the consummate idealist I once was, at least according to some. I accept I have been jaded by my experiences, especially my professional experiences. The gang inside the beltway, though, has a much higher responsibility and we need to be demanding a rather high level of honesty in their dealings. The stakes are life itself for many and ought not be taken as lightly as I see many there do.

It is long overdue to demand this from our representatives in government or take the initiative to remove them from office.