You can’t Scream Fire in a Crowded Theatre!

I’m a realtor and the law states that if I try to scare the public into selling their homes by using scare tactics, I can loose my license and pay significant fines – even if everything I’m saying is perfectly true! I can be sued if I fail to live up to my fiduciary responsibilities to my client’s interests. There is a morality clause that could have prevented me from getting my real estate license and I could always loose it for ethical or legal violations.

Given all the constraints imposed on me to protect the public, how are politicians allowed to get away with their actions? Politicians go on TV and create panic and outright lie to the public without consequences other than possibly not being voted back into office. The recent health care bill debate was a perfect example. Outright lies were being told these past few months and yet there are no consequences. Numerous times congressman went on TV and made bold statements which were immediately proven as incorrect by fact checkers. But these statements scared millions of people. The ‘Death Panels’ scare was tantamount to screaming “Fire” in a crowded theatre. It incited panic and fear amongst some of the weakest people in our society.

Were the “Death Panel” congressman lying or ignorant? Either way they should not be representing the American people.

How can we have intelligent and civil debates about critical issues facing our nation when all we have rammed down our throats are exaggerations, lies and scare tactics? Who do you believe? If there’s even a remote chance the lies are true, it scares us!

We have reached a point where the better a piece of legislation is for the American people, the greater the political party that did not initiate it, is opposed to it. They would rather the American people suffer then have the opposing party take credit for accomplishing something the American people might appreciate. These politicians so often accuse others of being unpatriotic when they themselves care only for power and riches and lack any concern for their constituents.

Of all people, our leaders have a responsibility to give us an honest assessment of legislation and to perhaps live under the same rules that other professions must abide by when serving the public. If legislation is contrary to a party’s ideals, state ‘real’ factual reasons why as a political party you’re against it. If you exaggerate and lie, then I have to believe that the legislation hurts some industry that has paid your party millions of dollars in campaign contributions. This pattern of outrageous lies destroys the credibility of our leaders, we loose trust in anything they say. Next time there is a real national emergency, are we the people going to act? Are we going to believe the words coming out of our leader’s lips?

Let’s face it, many of our politicians race to DC to enrich themselves. Rarely do their interests and the American people’s coincide. If we do not force upon them some rules to treat us and their counterparts in DC with decency, they will not do it on their own. I suspect that Congress has always been somewhat corrupt, but just because this is the way things have always been, it does not mean that it’s acceptable and healthy for our nation. Let’s demand that congress at least have to live under the rules imposed on realtors. It’s far from a complete solution, but it’s a start.