I demand an alternative.

In one corner, I see the Tea Party representing the righteous indignation of hard core conservatives eager to see an America built on God, Guns, and Gold and in the other, I see the Occupy Wall Street movement representing a cliche patchwork of feel good sounding liberal causes coupled with the support of increasingly counterproductive Unions.

I demand something for the rest of us.

America is a jetliner descending in a long, slow crash pattern and those of us who long for solutions based on pragmatic, intellectually rigorous solutions are lounging in the back of the plane while the far left and the far right wrestle for control of the yoke.  I count myself amongst those seated too comfortably, yet not guiltlessly, in Business Class enjoying my fresh-squeezed orange juice while gazing out the window at our rapid descent. 

You see, I’ve spent a good bit of the last six months out of the country, living for a time in Europe, traveling for business in Asia, and vacationing in Central America.  All the while, I’ve watched the political process unfold in America with a growing sense of detachment and fatalism.  For someone who has thought of himself as politically engaged, this has become an increasingly sad and frustrated feeling.

Our country is badly broken.  No amount of rhetoric, Christian militia or peacenik marching, or cable news commentary is going to solve the intractable issues we face.  We can’t cut around the edges and we can’t leave it to the “Rich” to bail us out.  Our problems are not going to be solved by cranky, old, white men posing as Patriots or naïve, college youth imitating revolutionaries.

Our problems are only going to be solved by those with enough practical experience to know what real trade-offs we face and the courage to tell voters things that they might not want to hear.  We need leaders who won’t pander to those who believe that either God or Government is here to save us.  We need visionary thinking, but only from those with the backbone to execute on it.  

We need solutions that respect human dignity and individual liberty while not bankrupting us to do so.  We need an economic environment that promotes innovation of all kinds, that allows those creating disproportionate value to enjoy disproportionate gains, but that has clearly enforced rules of the game to protect the public good and the least fortunate.

In short, we need a movement of the middle.  I’m tired of watching this World Wrestling Federation match happening up in the cockpit that is certain to send us spiraling into the ocean.  I don’t want to take to the streets in protest nor blather away on Fox News or MSNBC.  I want to do something to help find real solutions to real problems.  Who’s with me?

The following organizations seem to be fighting this good fight (please let me know of others!)

No Labels: http://nolabels.org/

The Third Way: http://thirdway.org/

Michael Bloomberg: http://www.mikebloomberg.com/