Saturday, January 29, 2005
The politics of change
Gloria Totten wrote:
I believe that unless we begin to change the paradigm of our political mindset from the notion of warring ideological camps ala Sparta/Athens, to a singular notion of humane governance, no plan like this will have long term viability. Just look at the Conservative Movement itself. They planned, worked, and achieved their goals. But what goals did they achieve and what are the consequences of achieving those goals? They've divided the country and now there will be a swing back to the other ideological extreme. At some point reason and reality must take precedence and the reality is that false dichotomies are inherently self-defeating in the face of the concrete facts of existence.
And please be advised that the only planning that matters now is getting ready for the ending of cheap oil and everything that is based on it in our modern industrial way of life. When that hits it won't matter what "label" you go by. All that will matter is getting enough to eat and staying warm. If we are to call ourselves human beings, then we'd better learn to cooperate with each other regardless of label if any of us are to survive to old age.
It spells trouble in this country if our future is in the hands of one person running for one office. Did we invest too much at the top of the ticket this year while eschewing the hard work of building the base necessary at the local level? Long-term change will only be accomplished by rededicating ourselves to developing a permanent and sophisticated program to recruit candidates.
I believe that unless we begin to change the paradigm of our political mindset from the notion of warring ideological camps ala Sparta/Athens, to a singular notion of humane governance, no plan like this will have long term viability. Just look at the Conservative Movement itself. They planned, worked, and achieved their goals. But what goals did they achieve and what are the consequences of achieving those goals? They've divided the country and now there will be a swing back to the other ideological extreme. At some point reason and reality must take precedence and the reality is that false dichotomies are inherently self-defeating in the face of the concrete facts of existence.
And please be advised that the only planning that matters now is getting ready for the ending of cheap oil and everything that is based on it in our modern industrial way of life. When that hits it won't matter what "label" you go by. All that will matter is getting enough to eat and staying warm. If we are to call ourselves human beings, then we'd better learn to cooperate with each other regardless of label if any of us are to survive to old age.
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