A few days ago I was driving...somewhere. If you live out here, you spend a lot of time in your car.
As it happened, the BBC news hour was on, and there was a lot of yelling, most of it in pretty toff English accents.
Generally, if you want that sort of thing, you turn to Fox News or MSNBC, not the British state-run news outlet.
Fascinated, I listened for a while. Of course, the story was about the British Parliament -- and that fabulous institution titled "The Prime Minister's Question Hour."
It sounded like a genteel version of a typical Phillies game -- a lot of hooting and hollering and the occasional complaint. I heard a member of the opposition say that Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his currently reigning Labour Party "have got to go."
Well, didn't that get the faithful riled up?
Talk about an Amen corner.
And I loved the commentator, who described Conservative David Cameron as just the kind of third-form prefect one would not want to have had (Cameron was, in fact, a dormitory counselor at Eton).
What if our Congress had a "Question Hour" a couple of times every week -- when members could trash talk each other as much as they wanted to, but with certain rules of decorum?
As it happened, the BBC news hour was on, and there was a lot of yelling, most of it in pretty toff English accents.
Generally, if you want that sort of thing, you turn to Fox News or MSNBC, not the British state-run news outlet.
Fascinated, I listened for a while. Of course, the story was about the British Parliament -- and that fabulous institution titled "The Prime Minister's Question Hour."
It sounded like a genteel version of a typical Phillies game -- a lot of hooting and hollering and the occasional complaint. I heard a member of the opposition say that Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his currently reigning Labour Party "have got to go."
Well, didn't that get the faithful riled up?
Talk about an Amen corner.
And I loved the commentator, who described Conservative David Cameron as just the kind of third-form prefect one would not want to have had (Cameron was, in fact, a dormitory counselor at Eton).
What if our Congress had a "Question Hour" a couple of times every week -- when members could trash talk each other as much as they wanted to, but with certain rules of decorum?
We've had a spate of derogatory comments recently in our own Congress (see post linked above here).
And they probably continue to aid the loss public of confidence in elected officials, who are generally not chosen for their ability to come up with snarky insults.
What if we give them certain times when they could indulge their shadow sides -- and get it out of their bloodstream?
Kind of like recess for toddlers.
It's an idea. Either that or a stint as lunch monitor at a local elementary school -- with time off for good behavior.
1 commentaire:
They trash talk now without rules - courtesy of Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin and other wanks. Or is it wonks. It gets ugly. Maybe by moving it into the capitol with some rules, it might be better. Interesting idea
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