Gallup's editor Frank Newport made an interesting point the other day. Musing on why Congress' approval rating has gone down recently, he wondered why, and suggested that it was because they're debating stuff pretty strenuously now - esp Social Security. Americans don't like that (and this is me, not Newport) - they like it when everyone rises above partisanship and works on practical solutions. So, having a strong point of view = hate.
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This sentiment -- that strong points of view = hate - has a familiar ring.
In fact, it reminds me of the atmosphere of many corporations I've worked for (and as a consultant, I've had a chance to sample quite a few of corporate environments...take their full, cowardice inducing measure) in which strong opinions, even in defense of whatever the firm's product is supposed to be (and sometimes even, astoundingly, in defense of profit generating practices under threat for one reason or another) is interpreted as undesirable; as, in short, 'unprofessional' behavior.
So, I wonder if Americans' reported attraction to the appearance of Congressional consensus and aversion to bullshit free discourse is the result of on-the-job psycho-social training.
Pure conjecture of course but intriguing.
Perhaps we've been so deeply indoctrinated in the style of presentation necessary to get along on the job we've nearly lost the ability to recognize actually existing, morally based objections that demand aggressive action.
Who can say?
I do know that corporate life - despite the colorful brochures showing well dressed, confident people jetting around the globe having meetings in tall buildings - teaches you to be a quite thorough weakling of a particular sort: an apparatchik.
.d.