Employing modern jargon, I need my space. I'm a pacer. People get in my way.
It's not that I don't like people. At least it's not only that.i And I'm not claustrophobic – at least not in the usual sense. I don't have a phobia, only a need for breathing room. Things have gotten too big for me.
That's a shame. We live in an age of size and numbers. We're reminded of the size issue every time we open our e-mail and look at the spam and find products which I won't discuss. And there are plenty of plastic surgeons who specialize in changing the size of breasts and butts. And lips.
The obsession with numbers, however, seems to be the hallmark of our times. Not just lotto, but everything else as well. Movies and television shows, and the various social networks, are judged by the number of people they attract; sports broadcasting is so filled with statistics that there is no time for anything else – and some of the statistics are so bizarre as to be sillyii; and with modern technology, search engine results are in the tens or hundreds of millions. Numbers are big, and in part that reflects a change in the American (and world) culture, with a fascination for size and records. So all numbers seem to be big.
But the most striking numbers – and, in the end, the most significant – are those related to the “representative” democracy in which we live. When the American Constitution was written,iii note was taken of the need for representatives to be familiar with the people they represented, but in order to limit the size of the House of Representatives theyiv wrote, “The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000, but each state shall have at least one representative ...”v That was then. The population right nowvi is 313,397,468 with a net gain of one every fourteen seconds. With 435 member of the House, there are now an average of 720,453.949425287356321...vii constituents for each congressman.viii And each district has a variety of neighborhoods and professions. It's likely that the “representative” isn't able to represent much more than himself.ix
To justify their positions our representatives (or their staffs) write bills, long bills. When the Supreme Court considered health care legislation recently, Justice Scalia commented “(W)hat happened to the Eighth Amendment?x You really want us to go through these 2,700 pages?xi And do you really expect the Court to do that? Or do you expect us to — to give this function to our law clerks?”xii The laws themselves are too long,xiii and they often are “fleshed out” by regulations whose elaboration by nameless bureaucrats may dwarf the legislation.xiv
Speaking of “nameless bureaucrats,” as of February, 2010, according to the Employment Situation Summary published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 21,292,000 government employees in the United States. That includes the President's eight speech writers.xv It's likely that the Founding Fathers never anticipated all the complexities we'd create for ourselves.
It's not up to me to decide if a large governmental bureaucracy is good or bad. Both opinions have their adherents. And at a time of high unemployment there's a lot to be said for high government employment, especially in tenured Civil Service positions,xvi but the risks of an unelected – and to a small degree elected, if unrepresentative – body that makes the rules for us, cannot be overlooked.
As for me, I have more important matters to ponder. Will we have a minyanxvii tomorrow morning? But whether or not that that's the case – and I certainly hope we'll have enough – I'm sure I'll have enough room to pace. Large numbers are never a problem there.
Next episode: “All The News ... Addendum” -- Journalism. Take 2.
i I would have made a great hermit. It's nice having someone to talk to, but only when I want to talk. I know it's a selfish attitude, but I like having someone around on my terms. I like to have plenty of room and not to have to pay any attention to anyone unless I feel like it. I realize that such an outlook is intolerable to others and I try to be sociable, but my heart isn't in it.
ii Like doubles in the fourth inning on a Tuesday.
iii 1787
iv Actually it was James Madison who wrote it.
v Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3. Do you know that many? I don't know 30,000 people. Maybe they did but I don't. Nonetheless I can understand their view that this “limitation” would be sufficient to ensure proper representation.
vi April 20, 2012 at 13:48 UTC – according to the US Census Bureau.
vii The number just keeps going, but by now you've got the point. And parts of people are a little too difficult to conceive (of).
viii The number just went up.
ix But he probably does that admirably.
x Dealing with cruel and unusual punishment.
xi The Declaration of Independence, which outlined our ideals, and declared our independence and its justification, was about 1,330 words long and the Constitution about 4,500. The Constitution, of course, outlined our entire governmental system, listing the branches, their duties, and the details of our relations with other nations, among other things. The two together could fit in those 2,700 (plus however many thousand pages of pages are needed to clarify the shorthand of the original law) at 2.16 words per page. That's a lot of white space. It seems clear that the health care law is far more important than the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
xii The Justices, though not elected, go through some form of review by the Senate; the clerks, however, are not in any way representative of the people.
xiii And there are far too many of them, with the Federal government often taking over areas which the signers of the Constitution intended as the responsibility of the states.
xv I wonder how many George Washington had.
xvi Whoever is elected, irrespective of which party, regulations will be written by these people, and will reflect their views and prejudices. To a degree this ensures stability, but the rules they write may not reflect the wishes of the legislators or their constituents.
xvii The ten men needed for some parts of the Jewish religious service.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I know you agree, but you can leave comments anyway.