The Evils of Having an "Agenda"

Under the heading of "oh, snap," one of the biggest insults one Sacramento insider can dish out to another Sacramento insider is "she has an agenda." I know, because I have one.

Apparently, the top goal of many people in public service in California is not to have any firmly held beliefs. Free of these pesky constraints, one can, with impunity, hire on to represent the pharmaceutical industry, HMOs or known polluters, secure in the knowledge that everyone deserves a good lobbyist.

Since I'm law-ya, you'd think I'd know better than to have an agenda. A good law-ya never lets his beliefs get in the way of his client's interests.

What is my agenda, you may ask? Well, my political agenda is this, to create a stable and functional democracy such that the legislature is capable of representing the people's interests, which I interpret as including clean air, clean water, quality universal health care, good schools, protection of civil and consumer rights, affordable housing and jobs that pay a living wage. I have come to believe that one of the key ways to accomplish this goal is to enact a system of public financing of elections here, similar to what is already working in Maine, Arizona and Connecticut.

I generally work for people who agree with me so that I do not experience cognitive dissonance.

In last year's special election, the press excoriated the California Nurses Association (one of my former employers) for "having an agenda" in advancing the cause of public financing. The initiative they pushed was seen as a stalking horse for, horror of horrors, (whisper it, why dontcha) universal health care. Insiders used their "agenda" to sink the initiative.

Having said this, I do think that what many of the insiders are reacting to when they tag others for having an agenda is self-righteousness. From both a strategic and karmic point of view, self-righteousness is to be avoided (ask me how I know).

Moreover, in attempting to advance my agenda, I am now careful to avoid using tactics or strategies which themselves threaten to unravel the very utopia I seek. For example, since I want a peaceful world, I need to avoid talking about "fighting" for people's rights, or creating an "army" of activists. I must also avoid the term "jihad."

Mindful of these self-imposed constraints, all in all, I remain comfortable with my agenda and the beliefs which inform it. I urge you to get one too. I understand they are available used on Amazon.