Relax and Stay Alert, the Government Says, Sending Another of Its Mixed Messages (AP Editorializing)

AP Breaking ^ | 5-23-03 | By Siobhan McDonough

[Lance Romance]

Relax and Stay Alert, the Government Says, Sending Another of Its Mixed Messages
By Siobhan McDonough Associated Press Writer
Published: May 23, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) - Relax and have a leisurely Memorial Day weekend, the government says. But watch out for terrorists.

It's sort of like saying, "You have a dentist appointment. Have fun."

Sometimes the government seems to be sending mixed messages, as if it wants all things at all times. And it's not just nuanced messages about terrorism.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spends millions to trumpet anti-smoking campaigns. Meanwhile, tobacco farmers get millions in disaster payments and loans for their crop from the Agriculture Department.

Social Security officials complain that people aren't stashing money away for retirement, while President Bush urges citizens to do their patriotic duty by spending to pump up the economy and stand up to terrorists bent on shaking the American way of life.

And while the government encourages people to save, the tax code penalizes savings by taxing interest on them. It rewards debt with tax breaks for certain borrowing.

"The government can't speak with one voice," says political psychologist Stanley Renshon, a professor at the City University of New York. "The government is a hodgepodge of past accommodations and future aspirations."

Take immigration laws, he says. It's "a case where we have a body of laws which are inconsistent, contradictory and unguided by any central theme - and that was on a good day.

"The tax system, immigration system, all public policy arenas are wholly the result of pushes and pulls of interest groups over time, and you get a crazy-quilt system," he says. "It is part of how democracy works."

Homeland security, rather than being a special interest, is really for the entire public's interest.

The Bush administration, worried that a wave of attacks overseas could spread to the United States, raised the terrorism alert level this week and urged increased security nationwide.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said people should be alert but should relax and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Renshon says that while it sounds contradictory, it's really the government's way of saying "relax to the extent of knowing what is out there."

The conflicting messages coming from government don't stop there. There are plenty of helpings in other parts of people's lives, even on their plates.

The government has recommendations for a balanced, healthy diet for everyone, and a special program to deal with an obesity epidemic in schoolchildren.

But the government also pays for school lunches that still have too much fat, despite some improvement in the last decade, congressional auditors said this month.

In another area, the government preaches free trade but has put big tariffs on imported steel and sugar, both politically sensitive homegrown commodities.

"Contradictions happen because policy is made bit-by-bit, and different interest groups get activated over different policies," says Nelson Polsby, professor of political science at University of California, Berkeley.

"There is no mechanism for reconciling all contradictions into a single-minded grand strategy," he says. Besides, "It's politically expedient to say one thing and do another."

Contradictions abound on Capitol Hill, where Democrats complain about huge federal deficits, then propose big spending boosts; or Republicans carp about balancing the budget, only to insist this year that the biggest deficits ever don't matter.

The traditional welcome to immigrants is offset by heavy security concerns since the Sept. 11 attacks. Now people seeking asylum can be held without bond indefinitely if they're deemed a potential risk to national security, and many more people are now required to be questioned, photographed and fingerprinted when they enter the United States.

Whether the government is talking about security, nutrition or trade, it's democracy's way of letting the pushes and pulls of different interests lead to some incoherent conclusion.

"A squeaky wheel gets oiled," Renshon says, "and Americans are practiced on being squeaky wheels."

[Lance Romance]

At least our President isn't arguing of the the definition of "is" or shaking his finger at the American people and lying outright.

[chachacha]

These people are the only ones in Panic mode. Most Americans know exactly how to act and react. If only there was away we could teach others who report and right the news.

[cake_crumb]

The best way to keep an eye out for terrorists is to stary alert, but there's no reason for us to all have a nervious breakdown over them...relax but be alert is the best advice our government can give us.

As for the CONSTANT, dire warnings about the hideous danger of tobacco usage...tobacco makes some people sick. The constant preaching and now moral policing are part of the PC nany state the leftist press helped to creat in this country. The reversal of the tobacco settlement was a point of law, overruling a previous ruling which was based on leftist pressure rather than law.

So the AP's point is....?

Ah, I see. It's point is that it has no point.

[Blue Screen of Death]

"The government can't speak with one voice," says political psychologist Stanley Renshon, a professor at the City University of New York. "The government is a hodgepodge of past accommodations and future aspirations."

And this is why we need smaller government. Not only does large government infringe on freedom, it is inefficient. There are very few things the government does better than private business. Remember, no for profit company would have anyone like Robert Byrd in a decision making position.

[cake_crumb]

"These people are the only ones in Panic mode. Most Americans know exactly how to act and react. If only there was away we could teach others who report and right the news."

Yep. We should expect no more from this same group, which wouldn't know what to do with a plastic garbage bag and a roll of duct tape even with a 50 mph, -20° chill-factor wind blowing through a smashed window right in front of them.

[cubreporter]

Yes, people know how to take care of themselves and will if necessary. Those who depend on the Government to do it will be lost for sure. Take care of your own. Stock your own pantry, keep water on hand, canned goods, candles all that stuff. There's a list somewhere I think. I for one will not be looking to anyone to help my family if and when the time comes. Do what you can for yourselves and then perhaps if you are able...help someone else. Stand on our own two feet until we are no longer able.

[chachacha]

My plan exatctly.

[El Gato]

"relax to the extent of knowing what is out there."

I could "relax and enjoy" myself alot more if I could keep my 1911A1 on my hip and my M-1 Carbine over my shoulder or at least close at hand, no matte where I was or what I was doing. But the politicos and the soccer moms, not to mention the million marching morons, don't trust me to do that.