I happened upon an episode of my friend Jose Niño’s podcast, El Niño Speaks, in which he was having a conversation with a previous guest on my podcast, Zman. They were discussing "conservatives" and how unserious they are when it comes to power politics. Zman then made a comparison that I consider devastating and a nail in conservative/classical liberal politics.
The gist of Zman’s observation was that many conservatives are sports fans, and if the head coach or manager of their favorite team wasn’t coaching to win the game, they would immediately call for his resignation. Fans demand victory for their teams! Yet, when it comes to politics and the politicians conservatives elect to theoretically represent their interests, they make excuses, accept defeat, and whine about it like children who are not getting their way.
I shouldn’t have to say this, but politics is life and death; sports are not. Please know that I’m not calling anyone out for watching sports, movies, etc. We all need distractions that allow us to disconnect from the political; I certainly have mine. However, I demand excellence from those that are “in power.” I demand you do your damn job! The theoretical job of the politician is to make sure the interests of those who voted for him dominate the interests of those who didn’t. The loser isn’t supposed to get his way. The loser’s interests aren’t supposed to dominate the winner’s. The loser is expected to fall into the background and plot and scheme on how to win in the future.
If the person you elect does not have the victor takes all attitude in a war and refuses to dominate the defeated by making sure their and/or your agenda rules the day, then they are no different than the football coach who has given up trying to dominate on the gridiron. The difference is that when the football team you root for loses, there should be no effect on your family, income, health, or spiritual wellness. When the politician you vote for doesn’t play to win, it can very well be the difference between life and death. If the politicians are not playing to win, they’re going to lose. The consequences of that apathy are all that matter after that.
He certainly made a great point. I wonder how many conservatives would stop the winning mindset at the election itself, though. "We won!" while dunking on the libs and settling for the oh well, they tried like you would a coach for the local team that you would support no matter what.
On the flip side, I've also had friends treat politics as though the results are as trivial as a sports game and root blindly for their "team" or favorite "sports star" politician with no sense of the seriousness of it all.