As I write this, Congress sits with approval ratings in the teens, teetering on hitting the all-time record low of 10% set this time last year and matched in August 2012. By the time you read this, perhaps we will have set a new record low. The RCP poll averaged the results of seven different polls and found the mean approval/disapproval value of 15.6%/78.8%; the range was 14-18% approval versus 74-82% disapproval. And yet, what have “we” done? Over 75% of those polled expressed disapproval on how Congress was running their shop but, once again, what have we done?
I’m by no means a political analyst nor even a political animal by nature, but it strikes me that there’s a bad brew of apathy, lethargy and a loss of identity. How well do you think your practice would fare if 78% of your patients disapproved of the job you did? Would you be motivated to readjust, rethink and retool so your future employment was more secure? Why don’t our politicians feel the same “heat” that we would if we faced those numbers? Perhaps we haven’t become involved – personally exerted enough energy to heat things up. Perhaps we naively delude ourselves that if we simply express our displeasure, things should change for our greater satisfaction.
This is where the apathy rolls over into lethargy ... “I’m really not happy with what’s occurring and I really would appreciate it if it were changed but ...” I’m not motivated enough to do anything about it; I’ll just grumble, grab my ball and head home; I won’t be engaged; I won’t be a player. Boy, am I glad our founding fathers had more spunk than that! Historically, we have certainly had heated debates and political battles, but things have always progressed forward. The art of the compromise, in order to accomplish a higher mutual goal – what best serves Americans.
This is where lethargy rolls over into a loss of identity. Have you ever noticed in sports when one of your local rival teams reaches a higher level, you’ll root for them rather than a team from a neighboring state? A similar pattern follows if the neighboring state competes with a state on the other side of the country or a foreign team. It’s an identity thing. Politics should not be like sports teams, though. When you trim it to the sinew, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the red team or the blue team since you’re both on the same team – the red, white and blue team. Sounds hooky but it’s true.
Not long ago, to curtail costs our local newspaper in Lancaster combined its morning paper with its evening paper. Since one edition was more conservative than the other, it added two editorial pages rather than just one. In that way, it could appease both the more conservative and more liberal reader. Now, I really wonder how much cross-reading occurs. There exists “truth” on both sides. The art is to glean the best and blend. As Aristotle put it: “The greatest good for the greatest number.”
Okay, okay so what does this have to do with optometry? We must be personally involved and active. We must be a player both at the local level and state level. We must communicate with our legislators. We must be engaged politically in our professional arena by attending our “Congress” – the House of Delegates – at our annual conference in May. We must cooperatively listen, discuss and hone in on common goals that move optometry forward. We ARE ALL optometrists and we ARE ALL practicing a legislated profession. This means that ALL our professional privileges and scope of practice is reliant upon legislation ... it is not a “given.”
Robert L. Owens, O.D., F.A.A.O.
President
Pennsylvania Optometric Association
http://www.poaeyes.org/
