Good Government Is Boring

When you look at the state of national politics and government here in the United States, it reinforces the quote, "Good government is boring." Committee hearings, testimony, different perspectives being presented, honest disagreements on policy, and then compromise — and movement forward. Boring! On our national scene, there is way too much excitement to have today's events be called "good government."

The "Good government is boring" quote comes from a Governing article (a long one) on Who Ruined Illinois? 

I grew up in Illinois and was happy and proud to hail from that state. Since leaving for the military and now being a full-time resident in Washington state, I've followed the politics of Illinois from afar. In Illinois, things have gone downhill in a bad way with a succession of governors driven more by corruption than service. I figure they should name a wing of some federal prison after one of them. However, it generally takes more than one person to ruin a state or nation. Others become complicit by not having moral courage to speak up and speak out against things that are wrong. If they are legislators, they vote with the majority of their party and for things that will get them re-elected.

Just last night, I had a conversation with my daughter who is a working business professional. We talked about her role in advising her superiors on what needs to be done and providing her best advice — even if they don't want to hear it. More people need to have the courage to do the same, in and out of government.