We are in an upside-down world of haters claiming to love all humanity, liars posing as sages, criminals running law enforcement, and unabashed “For Sale” signs hung out by policymakers cashing in. It takes tin ears and tone deafness to new levels. It’s the stuff of satire, but it’s real and it isn’t funny.
In the post-Watergate era, Senator William Proxmire (D-WI) granted his Golden Fleece Award for things he felt were a waste of taxpayer funds. While he wasn’t always on the money himself — plenty of research projects with no immediate practical application are, in fact, legitimate pursuits — the Golden Fleece did serve to call public attention to government. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes: Who will watch the watchers? We all do. (Or, in Ronald Reagan’s formulation: “Trust, but verify.” Today’s predicament can be traced to voters who have lost trust in government, but who can’t bother to verify what they’re being told.)
The Golden Fleece is not the award for these troubled times, but I propose instead the Tin Ear. This week’s winner must surely be Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) for answering a constituent’s fears about Medicare cuts — “People are going to die!” — with an unconcerned, “We’re all going to die.” Yes, Senator, we are; the real point is, that a government (any government, but especially one of, by, and for the People) should not be working to actually hasten that event.
Ernst’s tone-deafness is offensive by itself: she, after all, has excellent health insurance as do the other 540 legislators (including non-voting Representatives) in the Capitol. But that wasn’t enough, and she later posted a non-apology video: walking through a cemetery, she compounds her truism with sophistry. “I thought everybody knew that.”
Well done, Senator Ernst. Who will next week’s winner be?