Forum Post: Problem 24: political bickering
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 14, 2011, 9:13 a.m. EST by EdmondSeymore
(101)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
To many people, American politics seems to be a problem - the parties are more interested in winning than in solving problems.
We need to stop the political bickering. We need to have a serious debate on where America is going in the future.
It is not Washington that is in grid lock. The American people are in grid lock! Politics is the art of compromise, not confrontation.
The American people need to reach consensus on what we want to be and what we want to do.
The principles of both parties are correct. We just need to meld them into a national framework for guiding our collective decisions.
The policies of both parties are flawed. We need to find a common ground which produces the best results.
United we stand, divided we fall is not just a neat slogan, it is fundamental truth.
Capitalism is the best economic system devised so far, but it is an incomplete system. It needs a heart.
Democracy is the best governing system devised so far but it demands that all the people strive to reach a common set of rules and goals so that we can out compete the rest of the world and set the global agenda.
Solution
We see web BLOGS as a solution to the current political process. We need to "raise the level of discourse" in online discussions.
We all need to work together and find a consensus on changes which will really move us forward.
We need to focus on problems/solutions not parties and wedge issues.
We can not believe what has happened in the past four years; never in our life time have we seen such rapid changes in the things which affect the everyday lives of the citizens. We are living in the most interesting of times. What we, the American people, do in the next few years will change the course of history.
Let's work together to make changes for the better; not just changes.
The main tenet of the Republicans is personal responsibility. The main tenet of the Democrats is that we are our brothers keeper. These ideas are not mutually exclusive.
If you have to pick a side you are on the wrong side. The answer is in the middle.
Strategy:
Retain the existing two party system; but use public opinion to force individual candidates to the center by focusing on a problem/solution approach to current high priority issues.
The Solution is to remove money from Politics. I like the "Separation of Corporate and State" that's been floating around.
The reason they are bickering is because that's what they're paid to do.
I agree, but that does not need to be step one. Removing the money will not be easy.
First, we need to build a logical plan which most people can agree to support.
I have laid out a Goal [http://www.kwbsolutions.com/TCV/Goal.htm], Decision criteria [http://www.kwbsolutions.com/TCV/CVDC.htm] and a Process [http://www.kwbsolutions.com/TCV/CVTPF.htm] to get started.
Right now, I think we can get agreement to fix a broken tax code and focus on providing Full Employment.
Well, political bickering is nothing new. It was probably more intense in the 18th century than it is today, but of course it wasn't televised and webcast 24/7.
But the thing that strikes me is that both parties, in their primary (candidate selection) processes, vie for the extreme bases... liberal leaning left, republicans right. So we end up with few centrists being elected, and with representatives who, in order to win their party nominations, have made strong, public promises to the extreme wings of their respective parties.
We shouldn't get too stressed over the bickering, or even gridlock, IMO. It's an ugly process, but does force the sides to come back to the middle in order to achieve anything. Frankly I'd be more worried about a Government that was 98% unified in it's goals, with little or no opposing voice.
The problem is they are not solving our very real problems.
In the past, the earth was at the center of the universe.
In the past, the earth was flat.
In the past, a respected white man could own slaves.
We do not need to look to the past for answers to our problems. We need to plan for a better future!
yes, it is a battle between those who see the cup half empty and those that see the cup half full that has become the impediment to compromise. the people who see the cup as both half empty and half full are the ones who must prevail.
Thanks for your support, please see The Common View at http://TheCommonView.com and see if anything else makes sense to you. Maybe, we can start a new awakening in America.
Is not this whole post merely begging the question and advocating the status-quo, and if not than, how so?
I am trying to suggest how we can change things. It is up to the people. Democracy requires the involvement of the people.
So, the people need to have some idea of where they want the country to go before they can expect our leaders to take us there.
Let's all talk about it!
Good post
Thanks for your support, please see The Common View at http://TheCommonView.com and see if anything else makes sense to you. Maybe, we can start a new awakening in America.
Thank you for this most thoughtful and insightful post. One of the best I have seen.
I am completely with you in that both parties' principles are correct, but our current politicians don't practice what they preach. This is what OWS should be protesting about, not some hedge fund manager with a $1000 suit who works on Wall Street.
The political system is corrupt and that's where this movement, if it's going to make a difference, should concentrate it's efforts. The vast majority in this country right now are dissatisfied with Washington. If OWS tapped into this, they would garner a lot more support. Squatting in a park in lower Manhattan is going to do nothing to effect change.
think of those squatters as a billboard. With them out there voicing their disdain for what currently goes for common knowledge, they are enticing everyone else to figure out what all the ruckus is. Think of them as Plato yelling to the people in the cave, "the economy is a shadow of its former self. or as Morpheus giving the people a choice: "You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." as quoted on this site. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Matrix
Well, finally someone I can agree with. Okay, a good start, there are two of us. Please visit The Common View at http://TheCommonView.com and see if anything else makes sense to you. Maybe, we can start a new awakening in America.