A few weeks ago I was introduced by political writer Jim Geraghty to the concept of “security theater.” He defined it as “visible actions to make people feel comfortable while doing nothing to actually increase safety.” Like searching everyone at the airport but being careful not to “profile.”
His characterization made me realize that we are surrounded by political theater.
Here are a few examples:
Drought Theater: Millions of California homeowners are harangued and manipulated to save water even though they consume only about ten percent of the states water. Most of the rest (85%) is used by agriculture where practices and prices have hardly changed. The result is a negligible decrease in overall water usage and a huge increase in the feeling that we are “doing something.”
Climate Theater: Under the threat of global climate change various tax and incentive schemes are being proposed and implemented to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels in advanced societies. Developing societies meanwhile are using more and more of the same fuels to help their economies grow. The net result is no reduction in atmospheric CO2 but a huge increase in first world sanctimony because we are “doing something.”
Immigration Theater: This play has two actors. One actor says he wants to help the undocumented but in fact does very little. The other actor says the illegal aliens should “self-deport” but in fact does very little to make it happen. At the end of each act both actors are applauded by their supporters and cursed by their detractors as if they are actually doing something.
War Theater: The United States spends more on its military than the next 20 countries combined. We are extremely proud of our military and honor their valor and skill at every turn. Then we send them into battle with such constrained rules of engagement and such fuzzy objectives that we haven’t actually won a war in over 60 years.
Anti-poverty Theater: With the best intentions the Federal Government has been trying to help the poor since Teddy Roosevelt was President. Since President Johnson began the Great Society in 1965 we have spent more than a trillion dollars trying to aid the poor. The percentage of people considered to be poor has hardly changed in the intervening fifty years. But the caring makes excellent theater.
Simon