How Did We Get Here?
By lowering the bar…How low can we go?
Please join me in pondering about how America got to the abysmal political state it is in today as we move full speed into another election cycle.
My exercise to examine this situation focuses on the lineage of presidents in my adult life, and involves connecting the dots by identifying pivotal events that lowered the bar of national political integrity.
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I do not claim my content here to be historically comprehensive. And I am not qualified to reveal how or when the bar was ever very high to start with. But as you read my thoughts, I am betting you will agree that there has been a steady decline that should not make where we are now a mystery.
I have discussed this perspective numerous times with individuals and small groups that I regularly engage with on the topic of politics in general. That has not stimulated any deep or broad conversations so far. Hence, my decision to write it out in some detail. If there is such a thing as a political integrity baseline, I believe I have witnessed the falling of it consistently during my adult lifetime. The seven specific events I am presenting here strike me as meaningfully pivotal.
