Something My Daddy Taught Me

Key Point. “Son, you’re gonna be on teams someday. You’re gonna pass or throw the ball back and forth with these guys; maybe bat or stick. You’ll make friends. Some of them are gonna try to take your position away from you. But you’re still a team.”
Congress. No, not that kind. Mostly this goes for the House of Reps because the Good Ol’ Boys: Senators pride themselves on being more loyal to each other than to US Citizens.
The 435 House members fall into some loners/individuals, and a number of factions. Alexander Hamilton warned us about factions, but I gotta think nowadays they’re way, way overboard from what he anticipated… and feared. That is:
Small groups of peers in the House find their own norms;
they fight for them far more than the greater good.
This means there’s way more self-interest than common-good of US 330Mil people out there they are supposed to care for – US.
Our Representatives don’t work as team(s). They don’t focus on the big pic. They don’t take the long view. (see Biden’s Best Friend.)
Mostly they aspire to please a few people that make them wealthy, and for notoriety.
This is what I have to say about that:
– When you’re a little tyke your Daddy tells you to play well with others.
– In a bit your Mommy tells you to share with others.
– Don’t throw tantrums.
– Later on you learn to be friends with people, be honest, and treat people as you would have them treat you.
– Then the team stuff earlier mentioned has its turn and you have cadres of friends, and you learn it’s not good to betray others.
– Later, you study together and feel the synergistic effects of multiple minds on a set of problems.
– You get into work of some kind and there’s office politics and various personality clashes – even legitimate disagreements about legitimate objectives and means to achieve them.
After all this, what does your boss say?
“I don’t care if you have problems or even if you don’t like each other. We have a job to do, and I am paying you. So fix it and get to work productively or get the hell out.” Except s/he doesn’t say “hell.”
So Congressman, Congresswoman, go back to the Freudian stage you’re stuck in and work your way forward to some sort of productive accomplishment or even compromise. Or do what the boss said.