A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session.
(Barack Obama, "Remarks by the President to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care", Sep. 9, 2009)
Okay, so question: If Dingell's bill is all that, why not just pass it and sign it already? Pow! Problem solved! Right?
And if Dingell's bill isn't all that, what does that say about Dingell (and what does that say about the dude--and by "dude" I mean "President of the United States"--who got up in front of Congress and drew it to our attention)?
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Let's see... it's been introduced, and shot down, every year for 65 years? Why is this guy allowed to waste everyone's time /every/ year? I'm trying to teach my two year old that if I say no to a request for a cookie, he's not going to make any progress by asking me again every 5 minutes. I guess the Dingell's have no such training.
ReplyDeleteHey Stabby Pete,
ReplyDeleteJust to play Devil's Advocate, and not because I -in any way- support the Dingell's dang-ol' bill (which I, admittedly, know nothing about):
Some things that are worth doing (e.g.: repealing Jim Crow laws, ending slavery, and women's suffrage) had constant, tenacious, vocal supporters for decades before they ever came to fruition.
One could argue that your two-year-old analogy doesn't generalize. Either that or history will retrospectively judge you harshly for your stinginess on the subject of cookies for two-year-olds...
Or if not history, at the very least Stabby Pete Jr.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but I don't think we repealed the Jim Crow laws, abolished slavery, and gave women the right to vote simply because the same demand was made n+1 times (assume n equals "haven't demanded enough times"). It's my understanding that new approaches & catalysts were required to actually make progress.
ReplyDeleteTenacity is extremely valuable. But "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".
Even my two year old has learned. Instead of asking me the same cookie question every few minutes, he mixes it up. He has a variety of voices he'll deploy, various ways of phrasing the question, asking my wife in a low voice so I can't hear, or simply asking for "poop". The last one tends to make everyone laugh so hard that he gets a cookie just for being creative.