Empty Gestures

The 112th Congress of the United States is now in session. The Republicans are in the majority so it is their show to run for the next two years. Their first act of business was to read the U.S. Constitution, that document on which our form of government is based. The leadership let it be known that this has never been done before in the history of our country, so, they emphasized, taking the time to do this was and is a big deal. I have no problem with paying tribute to the Constitution. If anything, more should be done to highlight public awareness of what is, in essence, the foundation of our nation. But I could not help but wonder what the purpose of this act really was. My guess is the Republican leaders were attempting to demonstrate in a subtle way how much more they respect the constitution than the Democrats and how their actions over the next two years will adhere to the tenants of our nation's document more closely than anything the Democrats did before them.

I found the whole episode to be insulting much like I did the time when the most recent President Bush dressed up like a fighter pilot and pretended to land a jet on top of an aircraft carrier. (Appropriately, as part of that event, he then proceeded to give his infamous "mission accomplished" speech.) Just as that whole charade reeked of deception and false bravado, so, too, did the reading of the Constitution as initiated by the Republican leadership. To pretend their level of patriotism is higher than any one else's is dumb, childish and as untrue as anything could be. On top of that, what did this reading accomplish? What benefit did it bring to the Congress, to our nation and to addressing the many challenges our nation currently faces? In a word: none.

Often times acts of communication revolve around symbolic actions that are designed to drive-home larger points and speak to a greater-good. The act taken by Rosa Parks when she refused to move to the back of the bus is but one of many great examples. A more recent example is President Obama's decision to freeze the salaries of all federal employees. What the Republicans did, however, addressed neither of these; nor was it meant to. The entire premise of their act was hollow because its purpose was meant to do nothing more than promote their own egos and sense of self-importance. The result is they only made themselves look silly and petty and did nothing to elevate their profile in the eyes of the general public. For gestures to succeed, they must emerge from a solid foundation. Gestures designed to communicate a message need to do more than hype hype. That's what the Republicans ended up doing and that's why it did not succeed.