Crisis Fatigue

A year ago, we were just emerging from the unrelenting slog that is presidential primary and convention season. 

That seems like forever ago.

Since then, we've had Benghazi, debt ceiling battles, budget battles, a new hairdo for the First Lady, Beyonce lip-synching, an epic Mayan calendar fail, twenty dead first graders, a new Prince George, the French Army in Mali, North Korean brinksmanship, a new pope, forest fires, continuing Japanese radiation of the Pacific...and over 100,000 dead in Syria.

Tonight, President Obama will address the nation in an attempt to rally support for a "surgical strike" at Syria chemical weapons sites, following reports -- and some, um,  evidence from the intelligence community – that the Assad regime used sarin gas on their own people.  

Gaining that support will be a tall order.  The latest polls show that 60% of the American people are against any military action in Syria.  Sensing the uphill battle with the voters, President Obama has done something that no U.S. president since Harry Truman has done -- he is seeking Congressional approval for such a strike.  A bold move, and one that has sent Constitutional scholars into apoplexy.  It compromises the power of the presidency, it puts the president’s define role as “commander-in-chief” in jeopardy, etc., etc.

There are so many things wrong with a U.S. strike in Syria; wrong time, wrong place.  The moral implication of 100,000 dead by bombs and bullets not mattering as much as 1,429 dead via chemical weapons (a number that is questioned by our British allies, by the way) is difficult to sort out.  The bottom line for me:  Americans are tired of war in the Middle East.  Bin Laden is dead; the Afghans and Pakistanis have proven to be fair-weather allies, based on the amount shown on the U.S. aid check.  We have plenty of other schnitzels on the grill domestically.  As a nation, we are approaching crisis-fatigue.  Too much news, too much invented drama, too much George Zimmerman, Miley Cyrus, Federal Reserve, polarized Congress, Ariel Castro, A-Rod, LifeStyle Lift, ME, ME, ME!!! Closer to home, time has replaced money as the new, most valuable asset available.  It seems that worker overtime has replaced new jobs as the preferred method to extract every bit of shareholder return for the Wall Street Mafia.  Everyone I talk to is working what used to be two jobs or more.  We are working more, reflecting less and are stressed out.

We're tired.  If I have to endure one more minute of news reporter speculation on what politicians are thinking and why, I'm sure I will scream.  It’d be just peachy if our elected officials would pay heed to what is really going on in the country, instead of micro-managing what happens inside the Beltway.

So, Mr. President...how about giving us a break?  Invade or not, lobby Congress or not, juggle priorities or not.  It’s been made clear that our understanding of the situation isn’t  “sophisticated” enough to grasp exactly what you’re up to.  Sobeit.  Just don’t bother us with the details.  We need some space.

The best thing everyone in Washington could do for the American People right now is to just shut up for a couple of months.

After all, we've got Congressional mid-term elections to prepare for…