Say we rid ourselves of the current strain of bad politics and have the opportunity for something new. What would that new political existence be and how would we manage putting it in place. There are many who would like a Hillary Clinton version of the world, a few in power who are better than those who have been in power now but nothing like a power to the people ethos because these are a few who love having power over people. We could opt for the power to the people ethic and find ways to insure that all citizens find incentive to do the work necessary to meet the obligations of citizenship in an informed and thoughtful manner. We could throw our hands up and go tribal, divide up the space and build walls of some kind to keep others out, they do their thing and we do ours, separation the means for avoiding conflict. We could find ways to prove that the better ways are really better, that people are worth something for their individuality and not only because they agree. We could at least consider an intellectually adept society in which decisions are based in reason and dictated by sensible notions of what is humane and what is not. We could defend ourselves by insuring that all have good reason to act decently and humanly, have what is needed to lead decent and fulfilling lives and, knowing of the goodness of such wish to preserve what allows for such, a good part of this the good will of others. We could go for a society in which the comforts of the one come at a cost in comfort for others, a society in which good numbers have reason to hate others who have much while they have so little as to make living a chore rather than a pleasure. We could have a society in which a few control the many and exploit the many to get more than is deserved. We could have a society in which everyone has enough and none can get much more until enough have enough to get by and get by reasonably well. We could take power out of the hands of the wealthy and insure that wealth is not essential to holding power and that power, however attained, is not allowed to be used to harm the general welfare, the well being of the people. We could keep a good many hungry and powerless so there will be good reason for anyone having something to worry about the have-nots taking what is not theirs. The NRA is dependent on society being of this kind. We could build more prisons. We could have a society in which education is about discovery of the capacities of the individual as thinker and doer, as able being able to make good decisions and find pleasure in his or her abilities. We could insure that education is a preventative for irrationality and acts based in stupidity. We could educate to make deception an unworkable strategy, no fools to fall for it, deceivers cast out until capable of honesty and fair play.
We can begin here, now, to consider possibilities and which are the better and which are unacceptable. We can begin here to think about where we want to go so that thinking about what we do not like about the present has some chance of producing something better, even something good.
One reply on “New Vision”
“deceivers cast out until capable of honesty and fair play.”
It is hard to put into words what I know about human nature. It is like I have heard you reflect on in class: babies learn language without language—that is, thinking without language. What I want to describe without the language to do it is a kind of “idolatry,” but how can we use the language of religion if we have no faith? But those who have blinded themselves “idolatrously” are the ones who claim to have faith! Those who worship capitalism and the rhetoric of God, freedom and the flag while their policies are some of the cruelest in the world are self-brainwashed with just enough intellect to be dangerous to the rest of those who are fed their lies. Lies, lies! LIES! The media is a lie, the schools feeding our children very controlled edited portions of history is a lie, religion is a lie, those elected officials who’s campaigns and pockets have been filled with the dollars of the super rich lie to us. The wars we are presently fighting are based on lies. The rumor that Social Security is broke is a lie. There is more wealth in the US than there has ever been, but, at the same time, there is the greatest gap between the rich and the poor. It is all a lie. It is human nature to stroke the pride. The hubris which is presently in power (the idolaters who claim to have faith) are self deceived and cannot understand why everyone else does not understand things as they do! That is, thay cannot understand those who can still think for themselves!