Tag Archives: moderate

A Light Bulb Moment!

Posted on by under Political commentary

“When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.”  Or, as sometimes stated, “To every action there is always an opposite and equal reaction.”  This is the third of the respected physicist Sir Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion.  Now, I am not a scientist, in fact hard science is and has always been my nemesis, but I admit that sometimes it comes in handy even for a layperson.  So, note that whatever I say will be in laymen’s terms , and I hope those of you who are science geeks can overlook my simplicity.  To understand this third law of Newton’s, we need only consider that age-old executive desk toy, Newton’s cradle shown here:

Newton cradle

The concept is there are 5 steel balls suspended on nylon strings from a cradle-like structure.  If you pull a ball on either end back then let it go, when it swings back down, the ball on the opposite end will swing out precisely as far as you pulled the first ball.  If you pull two balls out on either end, the two balls on the opposite end will swing out the same distance once the initial two balls return to their starting point.  You have all seen them in action, but in case anybody has not, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton’s_cradle for some cool animated samples and a more scientific, though still user-friendly explanation.

 

Now if you have followed this blog for any length of time, you are scratching your head and asking yourself if I have gone and lost my marbles (pun intended).  Filosofa writes about politics, rants about social injustices, sometimes goes for a chuckle or two, but Filosofa does not write about scientific things, so where is she headed?  Ah yes, my loyal followers, I am headed somewhere.  Since I rarely sleep more than 2-3 hours at a time, I have lots of time to think.  So a few nights ago I was pondering how the rift between conservative and liberal thinkers has gotten wider than I can ever remember, how Democrats and Republicans are almost completely incapable of forming working coalitions these days, and I was trying to figure out the reason for this.  Thinking of myself, I realized that 10 years ago I followed a more moderate ideology, but today I must admit that I am about 95% a liberal thinker.  Why is that, I asked myself.  What changed?  And then, like a bolt of lightning illuminating the grey matter within my skull, I envisioned Newton’s Cradle.  As long as the right-most ball is only pulled out, say an inch, the left ball will also only move an inch.  But, pull that right ball out six inches, and the left ball will swing six inches to the left!  Enlightenment!!!  A “Light Bulb” moment, as it were!  The more radical either side swings, the more radical the other side will swing in the opposite direction!!!  I don’t know which came first, the chicken or the egg, and I don’t know which side started swinging wide first, those to the left or right of center.  The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter, the momentum is already set and the balls are swinging wildly out of control.  Ten years ago, knowing what I know today, I think I would have argued for gun regulation that restricted certain types of weapons and ammunition, but today I argue that the Second Amendment should be repealed and guns should be taken out of the hands of citizens.  Ten years ago, knowing what I know today, I might have argued that in light of recent terrorist activity, we ought to more carefully screen immigrants, but today, since the other side is screaming hatred and calling for a ban on any and all Muslims, I push back with opposite and equal reaction and argue that we must accept all who seek asylum in this nation.

 

Okay, all of the above is helpful (maybe) in understanding how the right and left have become so ideologically divided, how we can no longer find a middle ground on which to meet, but is it helpful in finding a solution to the problem?  I don’t have the answer to that.  Well, actually I do, but it isn’t a solution that seems likely to transpire anytime soon, as both right and left are talking too loudly to hear any but their own views.  Too busy patting themselves on the back and declaring that their viewpoints are the only righteous ones to even consider that they may be part of the problem and as such will need to be willing to seek compromise in order to be part of the solution.  There can be no compromise as long as both sides have managed to convince themselves that they are 100% right and everybody who doesn’t agree with them are wrong.  Make no mistake … if we do not ALL start moving toward a common ground, toward the middle, toward compromise, the result will be catastrophic, and probably sooner than we think.  A couple of examples:

 

  • Gun regulation – the conservative right calls for every citizen to arm themselves, while the liberal left would repeal the 2nd Amendment. Meanwhile, while we argue and fight among ourselves, crime rates, mass shootings, school shootings, suicide rates all  are on the rise in exponential rates.  Check the facts and stats, then extrapolate the date forward ten years.  See what I mean?  Some solution must be forthcoming or we will self-destruct before our very eyes.
  • Climate change – the conservative right claim that climate change is being blown out of proportion and there is no imminent threat to the planet, thus we should build the Keystone pipeline and continue burning massive amounts of fossil fuels in order that corporations can continue polluting and people can continue living their extravagant lifestyles, while the liberal left see the total destruction of the planet earth as only a few years away.

Yes, these are extremes, but that is what I am talking about.  Start with one extreme on either side, and it is inevitably met with an equal extreme on the other side.  There are hundreds more examples I could cite … social welfare, social security, nuclear proliferation, education, immigration policies all are subject to extreme partisan swings, while the truth, the solutions, lie somewhere in the grey area in the middle, an area that has been largely abandoned.  There may be no single “correct” solution to the problems facing the nation, the world, today, but there are certainly a number of absolutely “wrong” answers.  I am calling for a toning-down of vitriol in any direction, and let us all put our heads together and find ways to once again meet each other halfway.  It is the only chance this nation stands of remaining a democratic secular nation, a world leader, a decade from now.

On Voting: A Short Primer

Posted on by under Political commentary

In a mere twenty (20) months we will be electing a new president to head up the executive branch of the government of the U.S. You scoff? Twenty months? That’s nearly TWO YEARS!!! Why worry about it just yet? And I would agree with you. Fully. Completely. Totally. Except, the potential candidates and the national parties are already circling the wagons, seeking weak spots in both the opposition and their constituency. Thus, it behooves us to start building our fortress and filling our moats! Man the battlements! Okay, okay … overkill, I suppose, though it is sometimes how I feel. Already, with nearly two years remaining in President Obama’s term of office, we are being bombarded on a daily basis by propaganda from BOTH parties and I can only imagine that by the time election day 2016 rolls around, we will all be nauseous, disenchanted, relieved, or perhaps suicidal. That said, to parody a popular, yet totally meaningless saying, “it is what it is”, and we might as well make the most of it. So, if the national parties and the candidates have twenty months to bombard and annoy us, that also means that we have twenty months to actually enlighten, educate and prepare ourselves for the final decision in November 2016.

Now, I lean toward a specific ideology, which is embraced by a certain political party, however my purpose here is not to sway anybody toward either side, but merely to assist in the decision-making process. Though I may favor one party in particular, I am more nearly a moderate and have voted, from one time to the next, for candidates representing both parties. As a popular old saying goes, I vote for the candidate, not the party. I’ve never been a “straight-ticket” voter, and I don’t recommend it for anybody, as there are good, not-so-good, and downright bad people on both sides of the aisle. It is good to keep in mind that you are voting for the person who you think is best qualified for the office and will do what is best for the nation as a whole. I have a few guidelines to share today, when thinking about the “upcoming” elections.

1. Make a list: List ten issues that matter to you. The first five should be things that matter to you personally, that will have direct impact on your life. The other five should be more global issues that you consider to be of significant importance in a more global sense, things you care about and that will have long-term impact or consequences for the nation and the world.

2. Research: Starting with the first item on your list and working your way through the list, find every scrap of reliable information available about that issue, what each potential candidate has said about the issue in the past, say, five years, ten years. Remember that what the candidate says today may vary significantly from what he or she has said in the past, and may vary from his/her voting record in the past. Be sure to study both sides of the issue, not just the one that you favor, because

a. You should be aware of the reasons each side feels as they do
b. You need to be able to clarify, in your own mind, why you feel as you do

It is likely that your research will lead to additional questions and thoughts on the topic … follow up on these with your research as well.
3. Organize: Start a spreadsheet or other type of visual tool to organize the results of your research, listing the issues and cross-referencing with each potential candidate. Make footnotes if you have found a source particularly helpful.

4. Ignore: Virtually ALL propaganda!!! I cannot stress this enough. You are about to be bombarded by trash. You will be told stories of each candidate’s indiscretions, both political and personal. Some may have an element of truth, most will be 90%-95% lies. For the most part, I recommend completely ignoring and disregarding anything you see on either Facebook, Fox News, or any of the other radical or questionable new sources. Even most mainstream news, think ABC, NBC, CBS, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, are inept at telling a completely unbiased story. So … how, you ask, does one find the truth? Well, one looks to a broad variety of sources. I do use mainstream media, primarily print sources such as the Washington Post and New York Times, but I also rely on updates from Foreign Policy (both print and on-line editions) and Jerusalem Post for issues concerning the Middle East, Trove Today and Huffington Post for both national and international issues, and a wide variety of other sources as well. Where there are wide discrepancies, you will have to find other sources or use your instincts. The important thing is to use a broad variety, and never ever believe everything you see or hear, particularly on social media sites!!!

5. Understand: That no candidate will be perfect, no candidate will be 100% in line with your goals, beliefs and agenda, so it truly boils down to, as my father used to say, “the lesser of two evils”, or the candidate who shares the majority of your goals for the nation.
Voting is both a privilege and a responsibility that should never be taken lightly. The Preamble of the Constitution of the United States starts with a phrase, We The People. We the people are a very diverse group of human beings and each of us expect our elected officials to meet certain criteria which may vary wildly from one person to the next. We are truly blessed to live in a nation that not only tolerates, but encourages open and frank discussion among citizens. Use this wisely. Don’t let yourself be drawn into arguments that have no logical basis and exist solely for the sake of an argument. Remember that some people speak merely for the sake of hearing themselves talk. Listen … other opinions need not sway you, but sometimes you may learn from the wisdom of others. I steer clear of radicals on either side, recognizable by those who scream the loudest and are the most rigid in their thinking, convinced that their opinion is the only possible right answer. To sum up, start now doing your homework, and by the time election day rolls around in a short 20 months, you will be confident and secure that your decision is the right one for you. I am certain I shall be posting more over the course of the next twenty months, and I hope you will feel free to comment, whether you agree with me or not.