2016 Voter's Guide: Beware of "Manufactured" Urgency

     There is a delicate balance in leadership.  A leader who waits too long to make a decision is labeled "indecisive."  A leader who makes decisions too quickly is "hasty" and "impetuous."  Good decisions require competent evaluation and a commitment to act.  Some leaders will take more time in reaching a decision than others.
     One political strategy, however, is to introduce a sense of urgency into the decision-making process.  When our founding fathers were trying to decide about declaring independence from Great Britain, they had several factors to consider.  Poll numbers would have indicated about a third of the people were patriots, a third were Tories, and a third were undecided.  As well, the cost of war against a power like England in lives and resources weighed heavy on their minds.  Some, like the Quakers of Pennsylvania, were pacifists.
     A little book was published early in 1776 entitled "Common Sense."  It was mistakenly believed to be written by John Adams and so gained a quick notoriety.  The real author, Thomas Paine, underscored the urgency of the hour.  Now was the time for independence, while we had resources and before the colonists again became complacent.  The little pamphlet may well have been the reason we had the energy for a revolution.
     "Common Sense" was propaganda.  It was clearly one-sided.  It attacked the monarchy of England and highlighted America's strengths.  Cooler heads may or may not have agreed with his arguments.  Propaganda is like that:  Pushing the agenda with an exaggerated sense of urgency.
     Common in political debate today is a similar sense of urgency.  The urgency is manufactured because it is easier to get a law passed when emotions are raised.  Gun laws follow a massive school shooting.  Declarations of War come soon after the threat of attack.  Urgency can make lawmakers do foolish things.
     Manufactured urgency appeals to the emotions and creates the sense that we have to do something.  One recent political statement was silly with urgency:  "We have to pass the bill to see what's in it!"  This fall, vote for leaders who have a track record of good decision-making.  Don't vote for proposals that are presented without substance but with great urgency.