![]() Might it be possible - exactly as is the case with a co-op - that government may by nature do some things well and some things poorly?īut.that would imply much, or most, of today's rhetoric from the "Left" and the "Right" is of little value in solving our problems. ![]() We are surrounded by co-ops of all manner - such as school districts, corporations, neighborhood associations, or insurance pools (like the automobile mutual insurance pool you share with other policy holders). What if government is essentially a universal, or inclusive, co-op?Ī co-op after all is simply people cooperating for mutual benefit. What if government is neither a general panacea nor a corrupt drag on our lives, but instead is something more native, something not discussed lately in America? This is a subject worthy of many significant posts (the link above is a start), or of books, but we have a profound question at hand - what is government for and what should it do? And it can lead to a breakdown in dialogue in the body politic. This is the paranoid style of American commentary. One of the oldest games of humanity is being played, sometimes for profit (more eyeballs), but often with sincere, true-believer indignation. When you read/hear that the labeled group isn't of typical mixed character (with isolated malfeasance), but instead has a dramatic pervasive character, a hidden agenda, or the crudest of motives, a natural response is to join in condemnation or a feeling of moral superiority. Instead, even commentary in our top forums is suffused with misinterpretations and characterizations of a degrading nature which encourages us to join camps and oppose our real enemies - our fellow citizens.Ĭonsider, do many of the popular blogs, talk shows, or columnists you have heard/read, from the yellow to the erudite - from Fox News to top newspapers and some leading blogs (e.g.- when they address the 'real' motives of groups) - have more-than-occasional commentary that paints groups/classes/professions of citizens as following base motives and goals? This is no abstract question, nor is it a phenomena confined to a small subset of America. This has become so normal, for so many years, Americans don't even realize how mentally unbalanced most popular rhetoric and commentary has become.Ĭan a nation whose popular thought is based on mischaracterizations and labeling of our fellow citizens remain civil? Or will it experience a progressive loss of mutual regard.and eventually see the fading of civil rights that mutual regard supports (as in 1930s Germany)? ![]() It would be one thing if this was only the fringes. Government is either a good solution to any problem.or is an unfortunate, necessary evil to be shrunk for the better whenever possible. The real story is: You are either for us or against us. ![]() A substantive alternative view isn't of value for the ideological purpose of the forum, and if one appears, it is ignored or shouted down and mischaracterized and then it's time for the commentary from the guru. Other views are presented in caricature or included only if they have some obvious flaw, as a convenient straw man. Among the popular American commentariat - that is, the "Left" and the "Right" - seeking out real insights from many views is simply absent. ![]()
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