I asked a question of my contacts on Facebook. It was fairly straight forward:
I’m in the process of hiring a new employee and I’ve narrowed the field down to two potential candidates.
Both assure me (verbally) they can accomplish the job, but there’s nothing specifically in their individual resumes that back up what they’re saying.
Any recommendations on how to choose between the two?
Thank you everyone for your quick and thoughtful responses. Except for Jason and JP who were utterly useless – as usual. But I guess being a sarcastic wise-ass as I am warrants a few wisecracks from time to time, so no hard feelings.
The Ruse
In actuality, I wasn’t hiring anyone. The question was just a poorly worded version of my opinion on the current presidential election process. Sorry for the ruse, friends – but your input is valued nonetheless.
After watching both national conventions and as much of the “debates” as I could stomach, I felt myself getting more frustrated with this election than I had ever been in the past. Overall, the news media has made a mockery of the election process, and, in my opinion, no longer exists to inform the people, rather it seems to exist only to push its own agenda, corporate propaganda, and fear mongering. Maybe my eyes have been closed and it’s been that way for some time.
The candidates have been saying the same thing since the election of 1804 – that is to say they’ve been telling us what they think we want to hear. They pick a few hot button topics of the day and tell us how they are uniquely qualified to solve those problems and return America to it’s former glory. It doesn’t matter if the candidate calls himself or herself a Federalist, Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, or any other party member. The story is always the same.
But very few of us voters, if any at all, actually ask for any proof that these candidates can actually do what they are promising. That’s why, despite the ruse, I think the human resources question is a valid one. Maybe actually asking the tough questions instead of getting full and fat on the spoon fed drivel from the likes of Jim Lehrer.
Filling the Highest Office in the Land Warrants More Questions
The President’s post is the most important elected position in our land, and I seriously doubt most Americans invest any more research into the issues than what can be found on local and cable news.
Why, as a nation, do we allow candidates to side-step questions about specific steps in their plans to improve our economy. Why do we allow candidates to offer only generalities about their individual views on key topics like employment, foreign policy, and the education of our children?
How do we not ask candidates to demonstrate proof they can actually accomplish the tasks they are promising to accomplish? That’s what a hiring manager would do for the most entry level staff position in any corporate culture. Yet we can’t seem to get a straight answer for the person who is to occupy the highest office in the land.
And if, by chance, the candidates are answering these questions outside of a nationally televised event, big media certainly isn’t giving it much airtime. Instead they like to show us cute video clips about how one candidate continually says the same thing without actually accomplishing anything, and how the other candidate changes his mind more often than his underwear.
The Question, though fake, still remains…
I started this post with a note about a question on Facebook:
How do you choose between two candidates who promise the world, but have resumes that don’t support those promises?
Here are some of the Facebook responses:
- Only one person suggested actually making the candidate prove they can do what they are promising – rather than just telling us they can do it. Interesting.
- Two people suggested giving the candidates projects to complete to prove their skills. I’m not sure this is feasible, but I think this answer leans toward the response above.
- Two people suggested opening up the interview process and bringing in more candidates. That’s a novel idea. If we don’t like what the democratic and republican parties have put forth, we’ll cast them aside and take resumes from other sources. Oh wait, we already do that – but where do those people go? The media just doesn’t seem to give them any airtime, and who was it that forgot to send debate invitations to those “other” candidates?
- One person suggested we pick the person with the best leadership skills. Perhaps they’re onto something. Maybe the presidential post is nothing more than upper management. The CEO of USA. Does he need to know the law, or possess a degree in political science, or just surround himself with smart people who do know those things? This is certainly in line with the belief held by millions of people who already think Washington is run by corporations.
- Two people suggested they fight to the death – winner takes all – literally.
- One person suggested we flip a coin. Seems like the prevailing method these days – doesn’t it? The lesser of two evils?
Don’t Rock the Vote Baby
I’ve never been one of those people who goes out and tells people to “rock the vote,” despite my Facebook Timeline Cover or the featured image in this post. In fact, you shouldn’t vote if you have nothing invested in the process, don’t plan to do any research on the candidates, or don’t understand how high the stakes are in this election.
But if you do want to learn more about the candidates’ records, make an informed decision for yourself, and maybe change the future of our great country you can do some simple research. Here are a few resources:
opencongress.org and from the same group – opengovernment.org
A Disheartening Prospect
This year, I’ve written almost 30 letters to local and national candidates, plus an additional handful of emails to state party representatives. About one letter per week. Do you know how many of those communications were answered? Just one – and with a form letter from a staffer thanking me for writing – not actually answering the direct question or offering more insight into the candidate’s surprising position on a bill he proposed.
It’s very disheartening, especially for someone who helped one party canvass three cities, move into it’s new offices, design it’s website, volunteer for several of it’s local candidates and one of its gubernatorial candidates. Maybe I’m just not donating enough MONEY.
This week, my father passed away. Since then, I’ve spend alot of time debating whether my kids will be better off than me, and whether I am better off than my parents’ generation. I don’t know the answer to those questions – not yet, but I do believe the person we chose to run the highest office in the land in this next election (and every election after that) will have some input.
I also cancelled my cable subscription – a previously unthinkable act. Anyone who knows me, that I used to be a talent agent, and how much television and film I watch, knows that to be a true statement. I will not support a media system that perpetuates half-truths, and refuses to ask the questions that its base are screaming for. Ok, so maybe I’ll support big media a little bit. Of course I’ll still buy episodes of The Good Wife, Last Resort, and Breaking Bad on Google Play.
But until I get real answers to my questions I plan to continue writing letters. Maybe one day I’ll get a serious response without having to open up my wallet too wide to get it.
God Bless America.
