The quality of life

There is an old aphorism about two sons, one a perpetual optimist, the other a pessimist.To explain the different personalities which originated from within the same household, each parent attributed the influence of the other as the causative agent. The children in turn considered the parents as inconsequential in this matter--it was simply their personal preference. It takes a considerable period of maturation before parental wisdom is recognized.
When asked for examples of the personality differences they used a bottle of milk in the refrigerator that contained half the original contents.
The mother and one child described it as a half-empty bottle, the other two as
half full. This is an old story but a good predictor of how children will behave when they become adults--what kind of politics they will practice.
For some the government cannot do anything right that does not conform to their personal biases. And that means their self serving needs and desires. My way or the highway is their anthem. If other's needs differ so that compromise
is the correct modus vivendi, the compromise must always be made to accommodate their wishes. Voila, we have the tea party, which in one form or another has been around for a long time, and never produced a successful
administration. And the major Party which hitches its wagon to it eventually loses because of its unworkable extremism. But the music goes on, the dance continues and the nation suffers further decline. And the middle class, the bulwark of the Tea Party, pays the piper.