The ARJIS Aspect

Frankly Speaking - Frank Gillispie - October 15, 2009

Friction can be a good thing, and it can be an agent of destruction. It takes friction to smooth and polish objects and ideas. The crankshaft in your engine has to be highly polished to avoid wear and distortion. A small stone can be polished into a jewel for your ring or pendant. Your wood furniture can be buffed into a deep shine. All this takes friction.

But friction can also be harmful. If you let grit or sand enter your engine, the friction it creates can destroy the crankshaft causing the engine to seize up. Air friction determines the maximum speed at which an airplane can travel. Friction from your shoes can gradually strip away the finish from your floors.

Friction can waste energy. If your tires are not properly inflated, the extra friction with the roadway damages your car’s mileage. Accumulation of dust on the blades of a fan will reduce the flow of air from your heater.
In the late spring of 1908 a massive explosion in Northern Russia, known as the Tunguska Event, was caused by friction from the air acting on an invader from deep space. The asteroid or small comet hit the atmosphere at an extremely high speed, and became so hot, so fast that it exploded in the air destroying thousands of acres of trees below.

So. What does this have to do with today’s events. Friction can occur in non physical ways, such as politics. Our two party political system creates significant amounts of friction between their ideas and plans. Usually this is a good thing, as the friction from the party in the minority helps to shape and polish the legislation from the majority. The results is usually policies that are beneficial to and approved by most citizens. But that is not always the case. In the past, political power has been evenly divided between the two groups. As a result, friction from the opposition party can bring the efforts of the ruling party to a virtual standstill. In these cases, government grinds to a halt and important things are left undone.

Today, the greater risk of political friction is a clear possibility. The Obama administration is trying to push major changes through congress at a rapid pace. These high speed efforts are generating high levels of political heat that could result in a massive explosion. Clearly, the fallout from such an event would be damaging to our nation for years to come. In order to avoid a political Tunguska Event, President Obama and his liberal Democratic supporters need to dramatically slow their push for reform, allow their ideas to fully develop, and then be polished and shaped by the friction from the conservative Republican opposition. That is the only way programs satisfactory to the majority of Americans can be achieved.

Physical friction by the atmosphere caused a massive explosion over Russia that destroyed thousands of acres of trees. Political friction in Washington D.C. could cause a policy explosion that will destroy the careers of hundreds if not thousands of politicians. Which will it be? We will probably know by this time next year.

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Frank Gillispie is the founder of the Madison County Journal in Danielsville and writes a weekly column. For more writings, information and biography of Frank, check out his personal webpage at  www.frankgillispie.com

Tags: Agenda, Congress, Obama