I remember growing up listening to an ad for a national transportation company; “Go Greyhound and leaving the driving to us.” Kind of cool. Kick back, relax, let somebody else handle the steering wheel and the stress of the open road. Makes sense. Surrender the pressure, the headaches, the monotony of moving from here to there. Recline in a cushy seat and we’ll take it from here.

Problem is, The Greyhound Principle, worked as a marketing tool frankly because it worked; because it tapped into a deeply psychological human trait of personal surrender. Some call it “learned helplessness” where we yield our own abilities, waiting for someone else to step up to the plate. Left over vestiges of our initial infant care where we thankfully had our parents and grandparents to fend for us, some of us never outgrew that mindset, or at the very least, some of us revert too quickly back to those infantile underpinnings. Training wheels, water wings and “The Greyhound Principle” should be outgrown, shouldn’t they?

We turn to our government(s) at all levels to provide, to do the driving so that we can stretch and enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, elected officials LOVE being bus drivers. There is a power that comes from sitting in the driver’s seat and once they get it, it’s nearly impossible for anyone else to drive. They thrive at taking charge and asking you to strap in, sit back and we’ll let you know when it’s your turn to get off. So with sand in our eyes and drool on our chins we nod off  back to sleep and capitulate. We’d wave the white flag if we weren’t too busy snoring.

I love the term “hijack” in political circles; this one party hijacked the negotiations, the bill, the budget process, the economy, the election, whatever. Truth be told, there is very little hijacking in politics these days. You and I both know, we simply surrendered the keys.

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