Skip to main content

Left versus Right

Here are a couple of comments you may not have heard before. 


  1. The left and the right extremes.  Each has locked him or her self into cubicles and thrown away the keys.  Nothing except highly polarized information sustaining their viewpoint can penetrate their view-ports.  Of course, there are constant visits by their clergy to keep them pure, and to review the catechism.  When you enter one of the cubicles, you have a life sentence.   Can you image one on the far right saying, “You know that idea of Obama on health care makes sense.  I could go with it.”  Or someone from the far left, saying “The surge of Bush in Iraq actually had a benefit and began to stabilize the area.” Never, never, and never.

  2. Said the lefty to the righty, “My billionaires are honest, trustworthy, and brave.  Yours are dishonest money grabbing capitalists.”  Said the righty to the lefty, “My billionaires are simply trying to preserve the best form of government that has ever been.  Yours are closet communists who feel guilty about their wealth.”    This we've heard before.  
     Now imagine a party with a large number of the faithful from both sides  invited, together with a billionaire or two from each camp.  Would the billionaires congregate with their faithful?  Probably not, they form mere choirs, chirping, humming, and adoring.  Boring. Boring. Boring.  In fact, don’t you know, those billionaires have far more in common with each another than they do with either righty or lefty, proponents or opponents of their contributions.  No, they'd swap joke, toss back a beer or two, and they'd would talk about business and how they got those billions whether through government bidding loopholes, or acquisitions, or even crushing opponents.  Much more interesting - fun and profitable.

    In the meanwhile, the left and right camps would be huddled on opposite sides of the room (left and right) starring daggers across the room, whispering to one another how stupid those others are, and most of all confirming how correct they are.  The choirs do sing and never tire of their refrains.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lies, Deceit, and the National Agenda

The world you grew up in is no more.  The world of reasonable honesty and reasonable lies has been replaced by abject dishonesty and blatant lies. Lies.  Yes. People have always told them.  You have told them; so have I.   We need lies; they are a foundational structure of social living.  They both deceive and protect.  Children tell them to their parents to avoid consequences, like punishment.  Adults tell them to their bosses, to enhance their position and/or avoid consequences of poor performance.  Our bosses tell them to their boards to suggest business is good, the project is on target, or the detractors are wrong.  The boards tell them to shareholders to protect their own credibility and most importantly, stock values.   Our politicians tell lies to their constituents, though sometimes innocently with them not actually knowing much more than they've been told.  They enhance their positio...

Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I.                                       I.                 Introduction.                Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II.     ...

UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAIN

  Uncertainty is Certain G. Donald Allen 12/12/2024 1.       Introduction . This short essay is about uncertainty in people from both secular and nonsecular viewpoints. One point that will emerge is that randomly based uncertainty can be a driver for religious structure. Many groups facing uncertainty about their future are deeply religious or rely on faith as a source of comfort, resilience, and guidance. The intersection of uncertainty and religiosity often stems from the human need to find meaning, hope, and stability in the face of unpredictable or challenging circumstances. We first take up the connections of uncertainty to religion for the first real profession, farming, noting that hunting has many similar uncertainties. Below are groups that commonly lean on religious beliefs amidst uncertainty.   This short essay is a follow-up to a previous piece on certainty (https://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2024/12/certainty-is-also-emotion.html). U...