Tangent to Political Treatise/Essay

Ah for the Federalist Papers or at least a politician who wants to, and can, speak at length about the issues and his or her deeply held convictions and positions about them.  I was standing by a fellow worker's desk and when another woman I know dropped off a book he lent to her.  When I saw it was Bobby Jindal's Leadership and Crisis, I asked if I could take it to read next.  It is a quick read, over and done with in three short evenings and the book owner said Jindal's later books were more in depth.  Nonetheless, Jindal makes a good governor, especially for a State like Louisiana which had a lot to recover and reform.

Because I was a proponent of his advancement nationally, there were little surprises and it was not until Chapter 12 when I found dog-ear worthy quotations.  In that chapter, Jindal emphasizes it is the cultural heritage of America that makes it great, not its government or economy, and it is that defining characteristic that is most at risk.  He does not quote Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations but another of his works "... The Theory of Mortal Sentiment, which he considered his most important work.  Smith argued here that the free market system would not work well -- and could even bring out the worst in some people -- in a society that lacked a strong moral foundation.  Values like propriety, prudence, and benevolence are needed to check our inherent selfishness ..."

He goes to describe his take on the mortgage meltdown "... Predictably, after the meltdown liberals called on the government to adopt strict new regulations to ensure it will not happen again.  (Good luck with that.)  But more regulations can't solve what is largely an ethical problem within the culture.  Unchecked avarice at every level has taken its toll on our economy."

And finally ... "To sum up, American capitalism is great, American democracy is great, and American military power is great ... But the success of America does not rely on these things alone.  The success of America and the realization of the American Dream rely on our common sense of culture, a culture that admits some things are right and some things are wrong, a culture that respects and honors the dignity of the individual, a culture that defends the defenseless, values human life ..."

With these thoughts in my mind, it was fun to play dominoes this weekend with my husband and our younger son.  We have been playing weekends for the past month or so, and I think of all the rounds, our son has only scored 300 points and won once.  Sunday's game was going in the same direction, with me jumping off to an early lead and my husband catching up, while John had no points.  In his best political satire, he, who was keeping score, looked at the tally sheet and explained "You too have too much.  It should be redistributed to me who is poor."  Jindal would have said "You're so lucky to be in the game."