After getting some positive feedback from my essay about our constant need to vilify our political adversaries I feel the need to continue this discussion. Politics has degenerated into a win at all cost game. Politics is not a game it is rather the way we administer our nation. Governance is not a game and should never be considered as such. Most of you that know me understand that I do not like NASCAR, not because I do not like racing, in fact I rather do, but I cannot stand the win at any cost mentality that seems to go along with the left turn crew. We seem to have been infected with a political atmosphere that says compromise is somehow evil. We have pundits on both sides of the political spectrum who honestly seem to feel they would rather lose an election than compromise their political creed. I refuse call them political values because there is no value in hardline refusal to accept that the other guy might have a decent idea. I am afraid most Americans seem to feel that life and politics are a zero sum game. I disagree totally, in fact I am absolutely convinced that when you play the game to a zero sum both sides lose. There is plenty of room in the world for a win-win solution to nearly every problem. You do not have to look far to see the ravages of the pain caused by zero sum philosophy. When one party wins and forces the subjugation of the second party and all other parties in the contest, the winners eventually become the losers. All players, in every game, have to feel that they have had input that was valued and they have a reason to support the final solution. This philosophy is true in business as well as politics and is exemplified by the Japanese model of administration. You can look at my home state of South Dakota and see the results of the zero-sum politics. When you have one-party rule for over 50 years there is no growth, no compromise and a feeling by 45% of the population that they are totally left out of governance. Governance should be a process that is shared among all the parties involved. Compromise is accomplished by small advancements and improvements to the situation of the population. The final result of any political contest should never be the final result but should be a matrix for improvement. When there is no compromise there is only dictatorial politics. One of my prime examples of the negative consequences of the zero-sum game political philosophy is the Ronald Reagan destruction of the public unions. I am sure Mister Reagan, if he could remember, felt that he had accomplished a great deal by putting the air traffic controllers union in their place but what he actually did was destroy the public sector unions and unfortunately the entire middle-class. The unions were not just defeated they were crushed and were no longer capable of demanding better wages and working conditions. The strength of all unions was extremely damaged in this confrontation, but instead of allowing participation and ownership by the unions that were left the conservatives continued to hammer the unions until today they have minimal if any input into our society. This may seem like a good thing if you are conservative business owner but only a fool can look at our current economic status i.e. the loss of a prosperous middle-class, as a good thing. I have reposted hundreds of articles attesting to the dramatic increase in the wealth of the ultrarich and the stagnation and deflation of the status of the middle class and do not need to further state that position. It is so sad to see our society reduced to name-calling. The incredibly huge expenditures of time and money for the sole purpose of defeating the other guys is such a terrible waste. This money could be so valuable if applied to solving our problems. We need to rapidly and totally get past the idea that there is only one way to accomplish a goal. Every member of our society needs to feel they have contributed to our national well-being and have been rewarded for their effort. I long for the day when a politician honestly says you have a good idea but I think we can make it even better and means it!
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 06:40:36 +0000
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