With
Paul Ryan announcing he is not running for re-election and that he’ll step down
from being Speaker of the House, a wave of change is in the air on Capitol Hill
and across the nation. There’s a real
possibility The Republicans will lose one or both chambers of Congress. What if we had more authors run for Congress?
There
are authors in Congress today. Many of
them wrote books as a tool to market themselves for an election, part memoir
and part political policy. But what if
we had all kinds of people, who are primarily authors, seek to serve in our
legislative branch?
We
couldn’t do worse than with what we have now, a Congress filled with rich,
selfish, and in some cases, unqualified, individuals, who care about an agenda
that serves only the few at the expense of all.
Authors, however, would be great to have in Congress.
They
are good communicators, researchers, and thinkers. They can analyze, empathize, and balance two
opposing sides. They can craft a
narrative that leads us to happier endings.
If they can’t enact change, they can at least change the way we view
things.
What
types of authors would serve us best?
The
self-published author is a risk-taking, do-it-yourself entrepreneur with a
vision. We need a few of them.
The
best-selling author knows how to take a good idea and sell it, building a loyal
following. We need a few of them as
well.
The
academic writer from a university press knows how to dive into an important
issue and seek out credible sources to draw important conclusions to act upon. We, too, need a few of them to serve
us.
The
children’s book author approaches big issues in a simple but loving way, using
colorful images and good ethics to help us see certain truths and encourage us
to take action. Like Noah’s Ark, we need
a few of these too.
The
thriller writer warns us of societal dangers, of the problem with powerful
entities or individuals who are out of control. They entertain us while seeking
to restore normalcy to our lives. A few of
them should run for office as well.
We’ll
need business authors, civics authors, poets, and motivational authors as
well. Heck, every author brings some
kind of expertise and unique voice to the table. They are intelligent, caring, and feeling
individuals. How great would Congress be
if it was filled entirely with authors?
Then
again, many authors have shortcomings.
They can prescribe what should be done but don’t always lift a finger to
get it done. They are great with words,
short on deeds. They have great
imaginations, but can they deal with reality?
They are idealistic, but can’t they be practical? They write a great deal but do they spend time
actually living, doing, and experiencing?
Many
authors are individualistic and not team players. They are loners. They write well but may shun public
appearances or speaking before large crowds.
They have a moral compass – can they adjust to being deal-makers with
scoundrels?
Maybe
what we need is more authors on the staffs of those in Congress. Writers write, politicians legislate. They may be two different animals for which
no reconciliation can exist.
But
if an author ran for office, he or she would have my vote. It beats the losers vying for office these
days. Our president was a reality television star
(and author) and others have served Congress with credentials of actor,
athlete, and businessman and no prior political experience at all. If we are
taking in political novices and naïve candidates, we might as well try
authors. Perhaps we should get some
erotica authors in office. They know all about fucking others over. Literally.
“The art of reading is to skip judiciously. Whole libraries may be skipped these days, when we have the results of them in our modern culture without going over the ground again. And even of the books we decide to read, there are almost always large portions which do not concern us, and which we are sure to forget the day after we have read them. The art is to skip all that does not concern us, while missing nothing that we really need. No external guidance can teach us this; for nobody but ourselves can guess what the needs of our intellect may be.”
--P.G. Hamerton, The Intellectual Life (1882)
“I have decided that there is no excuse for poetry. Poetry
gives no adequate return in money, is expensive to print by reason of the waste
of space occasioned by its form, and nearly always promulgates illusory
concepts of life. But a better case for the banning of all poetry is the
simple fact that most of it is bad. Nobody is going to manufacturer a
thousand tons of jam in the expectation that five tons may be eatable.”
--Myles na Gopaleen, The Best of Myles (1968)
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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions,
and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not
that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on
Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels
much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.”
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