That's what I would be writing about, if it weren't for the following post on Social Security. And being gay.
After thinking more about what I wrote a few days ago about President Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security, I have come to two conclusions.
1. There is no way I can pass up the awesomely pretentious opportunity to link to one of my own posts. In fact, one day I hope to construct an entry made solely of links to other entries while I sip a grande mocha cappuccino from Starbucks and complain that no one reads my page.
2. I covered a very small number of the dynamics that will decide the eventual success or failure of President Bush's Magic Mystery Proposal and Tour Bus (details coming soon!). Since writing the post, I have thought of at least half a dozen factors I didn't consider at the time.
I think what I wrote is applicable to President Bush's aim to paint the Social Security system as being in crisis, but not to the overall effort to partially privatize Social Security. I'm not confident in predicting how it will turn out, primarily because I don't know how much importance to assign to the power of misinformation.
The Bush administration has been extremely successful exaggerating the truth, exploiting self-imposed boundaries of the press and using rhetorical techniques to manipulate people. In short, they synthesized the principles of advertising with politics more effectively than any administration before them. (I would be surprised if future Presidents, Republican and Democrat, do not follow their lead.)
The result of this heightened mix is that the debate over the correct course for Social Security may be determined much more by people's preconceptions and misconceptions than reality and fact. What these preconceptions are, how widely they are held, how easily they can be played upon and changed--the pieces are just starting to come together.
Some of this misinformation may even hurt Bush's efforts, like an AARP campaign saying his plan will be financed by killing 1 in 10 elderly people and selling their heads to punk kids to use as basketballs.
I hope facts have a strong role to play in this debate, but I'm doubtful. If they don't, I'll just have to comfort myself by remembering three simple principles:
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
RYAN SEACREST DOESN'T SUCK
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