American politics used to be an amateur sport. But somewhere along the way, we handed over to professionals all the things people used to do for free.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a shift in American politics from grassroots involvement to professionalization.
Bob Schieffer's quote highlights a transformation in American politics, where citizens who once actively participated in political processes have relinquished their roles to professional politicians. This shift suggests that politics has become more of a specialized field rather than a communal or amateur endeavor, leading to a disconnect between politicians and the general public.
In practice
During a town hall meeting, one might reference this quote to encourage community engagement in local politics.
The Iraq war was fought by one-half of one percent of us. And unless we were part of that small group or had a relative who was, we went about our lives as usual most of the time: no draft, no new taxes, no changes. Not so for the small group who fought the war and their families.
I've had a lot of fun, and when I talk to kids in journalism schools, I say, look, I know what the journalism teachers tell you that this is a great way to perform public service and all that, but I say the main reason, if you decide what you want to do is be a reporter, the main reason you want to do it is because it's just so much fun.
Our form of government can no longer be considered an experiment in politics. Crowned with success, it stands forth an example to the world and exhibits the proudest triumph of reason and philosophy.
Fascism is capitalism plus murder.
It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country...but the profits...skyrocket.
Who gets the risks? The risks are given to the consumer, the unsuspecting consumer and the poor work force. And who gets the benefits? The benefits are only for the corporations, for the money makers.
African countries lose the most from tax dodging. African governments must, therefore, do more to push for a full reform of the global tax system and demand action from countries, such as the U.K., whose financial centres sit at the heart of the global network of tax havens.
The G7 - and earlier, the G8 - were a group of countries that shared the same values with regard to freedom and democracy, and through the annexation of Crimea, Russia made it clear at a certain point that these values of keeping the peace, integrity of the borders of a country were not being respected.
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