Professor Halpern "Our Government is Broken" 2012-11-06

In her speech titled "Our Government is Broken," Professor of Pyschology Diane Halpern poses the following question: "how broken is it?" She goes on to argue the "hyper-partisanship" of Congress has led to a lack of productivity, that the toxic nature of the government's political atmosphere has created a need for corrective action. Congress's tendency towards extremists of both parties has established an us versus them mentality which inhibits capacity for change while fostering a culture of stagnancy. The incapability of each side to acknowledge the views of the other with respect has resulted in a "broken Congress." Professor Halpern argues that there is a way to try and fix this; her plan includes heightening social involvement in government in hopes of holding officials accountable for making an effort to work with one another. In the current arena, if one political party finds success, the other party is inherently "a big loser." This encourages a competitive, rather than cooperative, system of government in which each side aims to meet its own ends instead of benefiting the American people as a whole. She also champions the idea of open mindedness in regards to exposing oneself to perspectives other than those of one's political party, getting away from the concept of group think, and expecting politicians to show the public who is "paying the bills" in a similar fashion as race car drivers: openly, publicly, and without shame. Professor Halpern closes with the discussion of thinking critically. She explores the idea of "question[ing] the thinking of those that came before us," in order to initiate changes, while acknowledging the merit of realizing that not all people think the same way. Her viewpoint asserts that it is exactly this difference of opinion and disagreement of policy which allows society and government to progress through compromise, cooperation, and action.




The arguments she presents, although given almost a year ago, still address the problems we have within the government today. Even more so in light of the recent government shutdown and Congressional stalemate.