1. Why did you write your book?
I received a lot of requests to create an anthology of my blogs. That seemed to be too simple. After all, I am the Common Sense Czar! So, I began interviewing people with widely divergent political opinions.
I found there to be several “constants,” regardless of the individuals’ political persuasions: (1) they all held strong beliefs about the “correctness” of their Party’s position; (2) they all held negative views about the “opposition;” and (3) when I asked if they had ever read either of the major Parties’ National Platform’s, the answer was uniformly, “No!” That led to the inevitable conclusion that we had an electorate that was passionate about its beliefs on the one hand … and essentially without any facts to support those beliefs on the other.
This precipitated the idea of what I considered to be a worthy project: to help create amore informed electorate. I believed that I could use satire to seduce readers into doing what they otherwise wouldn’t be inclined to do (i.e., read the National Platforms of both of the major Parties). So, I took the actual text of the Democratic and Republican National Platforms and incorporated the Common Sense Czar’s “interpretation” of what they were really thinking at the time … essentially paragraph-by-paragraph.
Conservatives are first attracted to reading the Common Sense Czar’s humorous evisceration of the Democratic National Platform in The Left isn’t Right. Similarly, Liberals are first attracted to reading the skewering of the Republican National Platform in The Right is Wrong. Then, there is a natural tendency to realize that the Common Sense Czar returned the favor with respect to their particular Party and … like a car wreck from which you simply cannot divert your eyes … they find themselves reading their own Party’s Platform. At the end of the day, they will have read both Parties’ National Platforms and become a member of what the Parties fear the most: an informed voter!
To make the experience easier, I integrated both Platforms into the same book in a “flip” book format: two covers and two texts facing in opposing directions … just like the Parties! Read one Party’s Platform in one direction, then flip the book over and read the other Party’s Platform. You can start with either Platform. This is America! You still have the right to choose which direction you read … at least until some new Federal regulatory agency determines that it should decide for you.
Then, to solve all of the problems the two real Platforms cause, the Common Sense Czar created The National Platform of Common Sense. It provides a unique blend of history and humor designed to stimulate intellectual thought. While many of the Platform’s planks are offered with “tongue firmly implanted in cheek,” their satirical nature has enough of a grain of truth to make one occasionally ponder whether the suggestions are actually superior to the offerings of the Democratic and Republican National Committees. In fact, they should be because the Common Sense Czar isn’t trying to get elected. The National Platform of Common Sense was constructed to comply with the teachings of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights … along with a little common sense; three documents and an intellectual approach that appear to be “missing-in-action” in the major Parties’ National Platforms.
2. Why do you call yourself the Common Sense czar?
It’s the only “Czar” the current Administration didn’t have … and really needed. The books’ common introduction provides: “Being a Czar is really cool. Unlike politicians, you don’t have to raise money to run; you generally don’t have to be vetted in a rigorous way; and you have reasonably unbridled authority … plus, you get to be called ‘Czar!’” Need I say more?
The first thing I did was to fire the rest of the Czars with the exception of the Faith-Based Czar. I kept the latter because I thought I should hedge my bets in that regard. The rest of the Czars became “unnecessary” since common sense could solve the problems associated with their positions. The Common Sense Czar describes the basis for each other Czar’s “dismissal” in the introduction, which sets the tone for the rest of the books.
3. If both sides are wrong who should be leading the country?
Well, the Common Sense Czar of course! Seriously though, the Czar has too muchcommon sense to aspire to that role.
I think true leaders will ultimately rise up from the American population; people who recognize that the Framers were right. You see, the Framers never suspected that clinical narcissism would overtake patriotism with respect to serving one’s country. The Framers never anticipated the day there would be “career” politicians. Their writings are clear: they expected people to perform political duties as civil servants and then return home to their families and life’s work. I think the frustration we are currently experiencing with what has evolved into a “privileged ruling class” will give rise to a new breed of leaders that are more in alignment with what the Framers had in mind.
4. What is the most surprising thing that you've written about?
“Surprising” probably isn’t the right term. “Disappointing” would be more accurate. I was most disappointed with the Democratic and Republican National Platforms. As I previously alluded, the unadulterated language of both National Platforms had more to do with trying to get elected (or reelected) than with proposing a plan that would advance our country in a positive direction. Both were filled with unwarranted platitudes to their own respective greatness as well as equally unwarranted denigrations of the opposing Party. When you read them without the benefit of the Common Sense Czar’s satirical renderings, they are almost devoid of credible substance. You almost feel the need to scold both Parties for their puerile behavior.
5. Where do you see the country in 20 years?
From a longitude and latitude perspective … in about the same place. That is, unless Al Gore is right about this Global Warming thing. If he is, then we might have slid down somewhere below the Equator in that time frame.
If you mean from a political perspective, I harbor great hope for our country. I think the seeds are being sowed for a new generation of thinking; a generation that will be more in alignment with what the Framers had hope to create. I think “I, the politician” will be supplanted once again by “We, the People.” As Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
I hope that fear-based politics gives way to freedom-based politics. It may take a generation or two to get there, but I believe that we can bury the class-warfare approach that our current politicians generally embrace in favor of a society that guarantees “Life and Liberty” at the individual level as well as the “pursuit of Happiness.” Note that it is the pursuit of “Happiness” that is guaranteed rather than the actual attainmentof it. In today’s “politically correct” world, we have been deluded to believe that weowe everyone “Happiness.” Simply put: we don’t! We only owe them an equal opportunity to pursue it. Some will achieve it; some won’t. Welcome to the real world … and in 20 years, I think more people will recognize the elegance of allowing individuals to succeed or fail based upon their own abilities, efforts and merit. Not all of us will become Nobel Prize winners … no matter how much “promise” we may show … and we should accept that fact. Maybe then, the greed and envy that mark the human frailties that politicians have used to manipulate our votes will finally give way to more thoughtful considerations.
6. Anything else you'd like to add?
All three of my books make wonderful holiday gifts. Please buy them for your family members, friends, enemies … and even complete strangers. It’s the least you can do to help stimulate the economy. Consider it to be your patriotic duty! I could even support a “book burning” event if they offend you in any way. In fact, I encourage you to conduct one weekly … if not daily … until the entire Brazilian Rainforest is threatened. Of course, if you’re burning the eBook versions, you may want to spin them off onto a CD or thumb drive before incinerating them … but remember: only burn licensed copies.
Please bookmark!
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