Auchtoon!Michigan Maturity and the Con-Con…
Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, October16, 2010
On the ballot next month Michigan voters will get to choose whether to have a convention to rewrite our state constitution (or the cool way to say it, have a “con-con”).
Why It’s a Good Idea: Our constitution has been amended several time since the last whisking nearly 50 years ago, and it’s a bit of a patchwork mess. In fact, the whole state is a bit of a patchwork mess. So now would be a good time to start fresh, realign goals, and move on a clear path forward.
Why It’s a Bad Idea: We can’t trust ourselves not to totally screw it up. Notice I didn’t say “politicians” or “Wall Street bankers” or “that damn Obamacare that is tearing the moral fabric of a once genteel and noble society leading us into ruination, bankruptcy, venereal diseases, and the designated hitter rule in baseball, which I have never liked.” No, it’s kind of like term limits — because we think so little of our capacity to make good decisions we take away our own options.
For the comic I singled out the politicians because it’s election season and their pandering is in high gear (and because it was the path of least resistance to get the point across). But it is good to keep in mind that — in a country that is of the people, by the people, for the people — politicians are not separate citizens and government is not a separate institution. They are we, and it is us. Time to take some responsibility, read up, and vote.
Hoz said,
October 22, 2010 @ 11:43 am
Hey John. I’m going to the sanity rally in DC next weekend. Cool, huh?
Insanity is not all it’s cracked up to be. Go sanity!
John Auchter said,
October 23, 2010 @ 10:19 am
Excellent! I can’t wait to hear how it goes. Jon Stewart continues to impress me, for many reasons but not least of which — in a recent interview he referred to what he does as “editorial cartooning.” Check out this interview with Terry Gross:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130321994&ft=1&f=1020
Tyler said,
November 2, 2010 @ 12:23 pm
I completely forgot about the rally as I had family in town. Just happened to turn on the TV Saturday morning. Nicely done. Entertaining and not political for the most part. Loved how they picked on media outlets for not letting their employees come to the rally. “A seven year old girl is braver than those outlets…” 🙂
I couldn’t believe that former Cat Stevens was there. I thought he was banned from entering the country?