DC Ruling Class Spatial Disorientation

By Peter Raymond

The actions of the collectivists and altruists in Washington resemble a dreaded phenomenon in aviation called spatial disorientation. When outside visual reference is lost, forces unique to flight cause inner ear signals used for balance to become misleading and thus unreliable. This has the potential to induce head spinning vertigo and severely impair rational decision making capabilities.

Flight instruments offer the only representation of an otherwise invisible world. However, each instrument displays just a glimpse of reality. The pilot must use information gathered from all the flight instruments to accurately build a complete fact based mental image of the aircraft's position and attitude. Improperly monitoring or interpreting just one instrument will result in the loss of situational awareness and confusion. Those who fail to recognize their oversight will most likely experience the onset of spatial disorientation and begin to act erratically when control inputs do not have the desired effect. Unfortunately, it is only a matter of time before control of the aircraft is lost.

Successfully recovering from the debilitating effects of spatial disorientation can test the rational faculties of even well trained pilots. Without a concentrated effort to objectively analyze flight instruments and ignore contradictory perceptions, the pilot will continue to make false assumptions and literally fabricate an alternate reality. Survival depends on the pilot's ability to quickly cast aside any misconceptions and rationally reevaluate information to determine the actual circumstances before initiating any corrective inputs.

In politics as in aviation, arbitrary decisions and false assumptions eventually lead to disaster. In both cases, blind faith in unfounded preconceptions guarantees hazards will not be identified in advance much less successfully avoided. Many careless pilots incorrectly assumed all was well, when in fact; they were nearly inverted and in the early stages of a death spiral. Those unfortunate souls who did not fully comprehend their predicament and assumed their wings were level instinctively pulled the yoke back to raise the nose of the aircraft. This thoughtless action only tightened the spiral and accelerated the dive down to earth.

Are today's politicians acting any differently than a disorientated pilot desperately pulling back on the yoke?

A looming debt crisis threatens this nation so they exponentially increase deficit spending. Unemployment remains stubbornly high so they push for tax increases on job creators. Food and energy prices are increasing so they initiate monetary policies to stimulate inflation. Business expansion has stagnated so they enacted complex and expensive legislation. The housing market is still in decline so they block foreclosure evictions. Healthcare costs were increasing so they nationalized health insurance.

Each action is tightening the spiral. Policymakers are figuratively flying by the seat of their pants guided by their whims and fantasies. Delusions have displaced objectivity and presumptions have displaced facts.

Trust in their false construct gives them a misguided sense of confidence to continue on their perilous course. Their decisions become increasingly more aggressive and nonsensical as the situation deteriorates. They are losing control and rational citizens are bracing for the inevitable impact.