We started talking about what appears to be a very popular topic
these days: Why have people clumped up into extreme political groups
and why do they spend their time pointing fingers and calling each other names? Why is it
that we have almost zero real conversation and instead shout out mantras we
learned from the latest cable TV entertainment (I refuse to call them news) show?
We remembered out loud Walter Kronkite and Ralph Renick (Miami) and similar news shows of long ago in which, at some point in the newscast, it
became very clear that the next few minutes would be devoted to opinion. If the
opinion light was NOT blinking, that meant we were getting some form of news
that was not opinion. Then we got off on 24 hour cable news and now there isn’t
one iota of news that isn’t colored by ideology. Joe Jones fell and hurt his knee
because Republicans don’t fund adequate exercise programs for the elderly. Or
Joe Jones fell because he is a lazy parson on welfare. That’s what we get these
days. No offense to Joe Jones.
My doctor friend and I didn’t share much ideology, but we were just
about hugging it out in agreement that something has changed and that something
is for the worse. The extremes are making us all cranky. The press makes it
even worse. And don’t get me started on our politicians.
Our sad conclusion is that while this state of affairs seems
like fun in a perverse way, it has a devastating effect when it comes to
solving real problems. As we are unloading F bombs at each other, we are losing precious time to try to find realistic solutions for income inequality, poverty, healthcare, and so on. The clock is ticking and we are doing nothing. And yet
we gleefully elect monsters who perpetuate this sad state of affairs.
I took a big swallow of JD. Then we got to the fun part. Why? Why now? What seems to be
causing this exciting yet dangerous mud-wrestling? Why do the extremes seem to
rule each party? Why do we not recognize that compromise – a dirty word these days – has always been and will always be the solution in a democracy? Clearly, very few real, durable and deep economic and social problems in the USA today are
simple enough to be fixed by either right- or left-wing extreme solutions.
The world is full of grey, and there is no simple ideological solution to our
problems.
Here is the shoe dropping. How did we get here? I think I
know why we no longer trust moderates like Lugar and Hamilton to fashion
solutions that most of us would approve. But maybe I am full of crap. I am sure
you will tell me what you think.
Today we find ourselves with outcomes we don’t love. Let’s not point the finger of blame but just agree that the data supports outcomes that most of us don’t like. Maybe it is the distribution of income. Maybe it is the share of income earned by the rich. Maybe it has something to do with healthcare. Maybe it is the slow growth of the economy. Okay – you can add to the list.
My point is that we find ourselves in 2020 with a long list
of disappointments. What do we do? Do we sit down together and patiently go
over all the likely causes and try to compromise on very difficult decisions?
Oh hell no. Just blame it all on the other guys. That’s easier and more fun and really –
that world out there is so damn complicated we probably can’t figure out how to
approach all those problems anyway. Let's get out the dictionary and look up
some really hateful names to call each other. Commie! Pinko! Racist! Bigot! Now,
that’s fun!
Err, no it isn’t. And that’s about all I have to say right
now. We have big problems and instead of them requiring the best of us to solve
them, it is much easier to start a revolution. We aren't very smart and all that work will take away from our TV time.
My friend forecast that it is more likely than ever that after so many years of being the world’s most successful democracy, soon the West Coast states (and a few others) will secede from the USA. Wow – he really caught my attention on that one. Why should people on the West Coast be dragged down by the rest of us? Or vice versa? Just secede. Split up. That will solve everything. Or will it?
My friend forecast that it is more likely than ever that after so many years of being the world’s most successful democracy, soon the West Coast states (and a few others) will secede from the USA. Wow – he really caught my attention on that one. Why should people on the West Coast be dragged down by the rest of us? Or vice versa? Just secede. Split up. That will solve everything. Or will it?
From my vantage point today in Seattle I am wondering what it
would be like to be living in a foreign country. Maybe we will introduce our own currency. Let's call it the Mariner. How many Mariners will I be able to exchange for one loaf of bread? That’s all folks. Happy New Year. :-)
Dear LSD. You didn’t say if you and NBBF discussed the impact of social media on our great divide but you did allude to the expansion of ideological newz sources since the dayze of Kronkite and Renick (Clure Mosher wasn’t mentioned but he was Miami’s fav sportz guy to hate . . . not a newzy . . .). It is problematic that newz sources have become ideological and social media allows any moron/ignoramus to incite other morons/ignoramuses, that biased newz reporting provides fodder for the aforementioned social media aficionados, and thus becomes a continuous loopy loop of idiocy. It’s sad . . . and likely fatal to the USA we used to know . . . . that what used to be considered objective newz reporting (aka Renick and Kronk although a liberal but nevertheless committed to objective non-dogmatic reporting) is now the mouthpiece of left wingers and thus the major influencer—if not the controller—of public discourse. Likely you and NBBF didn’t drill down to a root cause of major newz being so lefty . . . e.g. products of leftwing-oriented colleges/universities/journalism.
ReplyDeleteYour NBBF’s forecast that the Left Coast will secede is a little radical but certainly not undesirable. And, let’s not leave out the lib/regressive intelligentsia in the northeast (and DC). Excluding them all from the Electoral College would be a mighty good thing.
Say you wonder what it would be like living in a ferin kountry? Factual newzy flash LSD . . . drop from three on-rocks JDs to one and you’ll find you’re living in one. Cheerz, Comrade.
Jeez. I am getting too old for this. I wrote a complete reply and they hit the sign out button. Lost the whole thing! Maybe I can summarize better here Tuna. The main point is that cable news cannot influence us unless we capable of being influenced. Just as we buy worthless and stupid products on late night TV, we buy the extreme crap from cable news because we either cannot or will not take the time and effort to deal with complicated problems. We are either too rich or too ignorant. We would rather watch TV or otherwise entertain ourselves than do the boring and hard work of understanding modern problems. I don't agree with your foreign country point. Its always been a melting pot and hopefully always will. The problem I mentioned above suggests our biggest problem is not the foreigners who come here but the attitudes of some of the rest of us.
DeleteDear LSD. Yer gitt’n too old for a lot of stuff. My reference to you liv’n in a ferin kountry pertains not to problems feriners create but to the diverse life-style, values, norms in your new domain that are ferin to many others in mainstream ‘merika (e.g. that’s why it’s referred to as the Left Coast). I infer from your reply not that you and NBBF are critical of biased newz sources and social media addicts but rather of a general lack of ‘mericans’ responsibility to be informed/knowledgeable about stuff and turn out to vote. Though ’18 was the highest turnout since 1966 @ previous high of 48.7 percent of vote-eligible voters it only registered 49.3 percent. Clearly, as Pogo said, “We have seen the enemy and he is us.” We can’t expect much effective problem solving in DC if only half are vot’n. We have wut we deserve—a vast divide. Cheerz, Comrade!
DeleteThanks dearest Tuna of the Sea. Yep, I is gettin too old for a bunch of stuff. But this is not an R rated blog so lets not go too far down that road. Thanks for the correction. I humbly accept it. I guess we agree with each other and with Pogo.
Delete"And, let’s not leave out the lib/regressive intelligentsia in the northeast (and DC). Excluding them all from the Electoral College would be a mighty good thing."
ReplyDeleteDear professor, it must be nice to have someone so simply and concisely validate and illustrate the main premise of your post. I'm sure for this arm-chair extremist the notion of a far-right gov't unbound by the chains of progressivism sounds like shangri-la. Then again, places like Alabama and the Sudan have taken these approaches and, well... Nevertheless your point about rejecting the extremists in our midst is not lost on me even if it is lost on your sea-dwelling friend.
Ahhh finally. A little debate on this humble blog.
DeleteDoober: Wow, I could have been anonymous. In fact i had to look twice to make sure i did not write it.Jesse
DeleteDear Anon. I figger’d my bait would entice a gullible lib/regressive to bite. Ya’ll never fail to step into the murky shallowz or disappoint. Rereading my note you’ll see no mention of extremism or far-right govomit . . . only mention of the well-known biased newz sources and social media nut cakes and their divisive effects there from who support limiting/repealing the 1st and 2nd Amendments, crimeless impeachment and election nullification, embracing investigation rather than legislation, etc.—not limited to but stuff the libz/regressives embrace as progressivism as well as focusing on limiting education studies in economics, civics, STEM, the Constitution etc. in favor of socialism and French poetry. A mighty fine watered-down democracy cloaked in progressivism’s warm embrace cradle to grave, eh?
DeleteDid you enjoy the bait . . . hook, line, and sinker, Anon Comrade? Yum yum.
Two many anonymouses to keep them apart. Not sure how you spell that. :-) But I do appreciate folks stirring the pot. If I was getting paid by the number of comments I would thank you even more but I am not getting paid nuttin for nuttin.
DeleteNo mention of extremism? You initially suggested the country would be a better place if half the voting population did not vote. That seems a bit extreme, n'est ce pas? And then, as a response you repeat time-worn tropes that reveal you to be nothing more than a far-right fever swamp dweller. Which is odd because I thought tuna lived in the sea.
DeleteAll digressions aside, there is no possibility of debate with you. No possibility of common ground. No calm discussion about what brought our country to this point or how to fix the things that are broken. You loathe the straw man you created and it doesn't matter if he and I share only a few traits. To you, I am him and he is me. And we are to be at best ignored or at worse expelled. So explain to us how that's not extremism?
In a nutshell, I said that we have difficult problems and that we should try to work together to solve them without adhering to extreme left and right wing dogma. If I am an extremist for saying that then please excuse me.
DeleteDear Comrade Anon. Tx for your thoughtful, informative reply. I never suggested half the kountry would be better if half the voter-eligible population didn’t vote. On the contrary my implication wuz more voter-eligible need to/should vote. I recommend to you the Evelyn Woods reading course. I agwee with yer sentiment we won’t agwee: Your comments are emotional not factual which is demonstrative of the lib/regressive mind set.
DeleteI see yer still nibbl’n at the bait . . . I can tell you find it irresistibly yummy yum yum. Of respect for maintaining comity in LSD’s blog I will share with you one of the tenets I learned in Tuna Grad School. It strives to keep us finny folkz enjoying the serenity and well-being of the depths aside from the occasional bullies/predators attempting to force us to their ways—or meal, ugh. The tenet sez simply that to enjoy our surroundings not to engage, discuss, converse, etc. (e.g. avoid, if you know wut I mean) with that kind o’ entities ‘cause they’ll take you down to their level . . . or worse (remember that ol hook, line, ‘n sinker yummy yum yum?). Therefore and henceforth I respectfully refuse to reply to your thoughtful and informative reply ‘cauze it’ll take me down to your level . . . and honest to goodness I weally do like it where I am.
Prof Davidson thanks for the read, made my commute shorter this evening. There seceral points I would like to raise. As you mentioned people inherently steer away from difficult decisions and sitting down and hammering out solutions where no one gets what they want is inherently hard. Adding to that technology, including 24hr programming, has allowed people to self select into a continuous but not virtuous feedback loop of their own oppinion. Compounding this self selection is the lack of shared sacrifice, while I never personally served myself, I do have a feeling that in a post Vietnam volunteer army world there little that bounds people together across the economic and racial divide. Even the 1980s still had the post war evil empire USSR that everyone could condemn. Without these common experiences and clearly identifiable threats (real or imagined) people have limited basis to look out for anything other than themselves. Sorry for the rambling but on the train. Chuck Sebaski.
ReplyDeleteAre you on the Orange Blossom Special rolling down that seaboard line? I just love that song. Anyway, thanks for the comments. You added another element to wondering about why we are so creepy these days. Lacking a shared enemy or goal could explain some of it. It may be that the US is too diverse to have that benefit anymore. Not sure. Seems like we have a lot of enemies but we don't really agree which ones are which. Maybe an invasion by Martians would help? :-) Thanks again Chuck.
DeleteDoober: I was referring to TUNA's statement: "Your NBBF’s forecast that the Left Coast will secede is a little radical but certainly not undesirable. And, let’s not leave out the lib/regressive intelligentsia in the northeast (and DC). Excluding them all from the Electoral College would be a mighty good thing."
ReplyDeleteHis statement is part of the problem.
I will sign things with my name, Jesse, so you can tell me from the other Anons.
Jesse
I usually know which ones are from you. The other Anon agrees with you. That particular point is interesting to me. For this reason. Britain wants to exit from the EU largely because of a vastly different culture and because that leads to political differences. As some US states seem to be moving culturally away from the rest -- it seems like Brexit might be informative. So it doesn't seem as crazy as it sounds. But the reality is that Brexit and a similar change in the USA will be incredibly painful in the short run.
DeleteDoober: I cannot conceive of this great country breaking up. Instead, we must figure out how to not despise our political adversaries. It will happen. I have great faith in America and Americans. I expect that this current problem is only short-term. And in the long-run we are all dead.
DeleteJesse
Keynes was right about the long run. :-)
DeleteOnce a people gets so angry I am not sure how one envisions the road back. I have less faith than you. An external attack by martians might be one way back but lacking that I just don't see it. Too much hate out there. I wish I was more optimistic. In the meantime we have friends and loved ones to occupy our lives.