My sister and her husband recently added a 2-year old male Yorkshire terrier, Panja, to their family, and, as one might expect, their 5-year old female poodle, Penny, did not find his initial attempts at establishing dominance at all amusing. After a few growls and snaps, Panja got the message and backed off. Although Panja no longer tries to exert ultimate doggie domination over Penny, he continues to engage her in roughhousing which, by all appearances, hints at a continuing power struggle between them. Penny gladly obliges him and, at times, initiates play fights by gripping one of his rear legs in her mouth and dragging his tiny 4-pound body across the floor.
In addition to being amusing, watching these "battles" between Panja and Penny reminds me that humans, like all animals, battle for control over one another on a daily basis. It is an instinctive trait that has helped our species survive for millennia; but, sadly, this innate survival skill has carried over into our relationships, resulting in misery, dysfunction, anger, and, sometimes, mental and physical abuse. For example, I have watched many friends trudge through miserable marriages or suffer through traumatic divorces, all because of an imbalance of power within their relationships. My life is not immune from this same phenomenon: My husband and I have established some definitive roles in our marriage; however, there are still some gray areas in our partnership that have led to numerous power struggles.
I believe that the same battles for control that we experience in our personal lives are at the heart of the stagnation we now see in Congress: First, while many in Congress serve out of a desire to better the world around them, there is undoubtedly a large number who serve out of a sheer will to exert control over others. Second, those who serve out of the desire to control are more likely to impose their will rather than negotiate or share control with others, including, but not limited to, their colleagues in Congress, the President, and their constituents. Third, if a large enough group of these control-hungry representatives unite, it can suppress and stifle negotiations within the legislative body and create an atmosphere of hostility that spreads beyond the halls of the Capitol building into the population as a whole. Last, but definitely not least, the controlling nature of these representatives can ultimately lead to negative social and economic effects on the citizens of our country.
Our Founding Fathers incorporated a system of checks and balances within our Constitution in an attempt to prevent the natural human inclination for power to run unabated within the government. Unfortunately, inadequate campaign finance laws have provided an avenue for those with an insatiable drive for power to find their way into public office. In addition, the 24-hour news cycle, which is full of inflammatory rhetoric and hyperbole, only serves to fuel the bonfires of vitriol lit by the Big Dogs in our government. Sadly, I am afraid that unless we, the Little Dogs, unite to change campaign finance laws and dampen the overall tone of political discourse, we will continue to watch the livelihoods of our many of our citizens go up in proverbial flames.
