Politicians Are Caring Less About Decorum. Good.
While officeholders strive to spark controversy, the American public is losing faith in major institutions.
Decreased respect for politicians and lowered expectations of decorum have become more mainstream in American politics as of late. Donald Trump’s presidency was a milestone for this—seeing such audacity come from the man in the esteemed office of POTUS was relatively new for the American people. Unseemly behavior was already existent, but it wasn’t as common.
It seems that in today’s political sphere, though, elected officials are quickly becoming more openly, and unapologetically, insolent. The weekend before last, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot shouted “f*ck Clarence Thomas” on stage, lambasting the SCOTUS Justice for his concurring opinion in the court’s recent overturning of Roe.
Congresswoman AOC, who also partook in calling against the decision, outright shouted that the ruling was illegitimate.
What has seemed to draw the most attention as of late, though, is a Rhode Island State Senator, Tiara Mack, twerking for a TikTok video, followed by her telling viewers to “vote Senator Mack.” She has also sponsored a sex ed bill and said teaching “queer inclusive, pleasure based sex ed” was a “highlight” for her as a teacher.
And she takes no issue in people knowing any of this. Rather, she’s mocked detractors and reveled in the attention that she’s been given. In response to a disappointed Twitter reply from a non-conservative user, Mack said:
Mack’s stated belief here is that decorum isn’t meant for her group of people, whoever “us” is to her. But she’s a statist. Decorum is what has allowed her class, politicians, to perpetuate the notion that they are worthy of respect—that they are well-mannered, well-educated, and properly selected to make decisions for the people they “represent.”
But lately, more of them have been comfortable making fools of themselves publicly (while others have just gotten bad at hiding their lies). And based on my personal experience as a former Legislative Intern, I don’t believe that their civility was ever anything more than a front. They curse, lie, and deceive. They’re arrogant and greedy. They will go against their constituency if it means getting what they desire.
Their act isn’t doing much for the public, either. The American people have record-low confidence across major institutions, according to Gallup. American assurance in Congress is at 7%. SCOTUS is at 25%. The presidency is down to 23%.
Though it’s not as if the American people’s distaste for Congress is new. And the political polarization in the U.S. may play into a general lack of politeness within politics—even politicians that try to act professionally aren’t safe from a crowd booing them.
But seeing state actors conduct themselves in an undignified manner to no avail brings hope that the citizenry will continue to wake up to their true nature. And hopefully, the people won’t be forgetful of what they see.
 | A guest post by
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