Difference between revisions of "Dysfunction in American Politics"

Revision as of 06:38, 31 August 2016

The aim of this article is to reconcile the political differences between the Left and Right in America in the area of taxation and so-called fair shares.

Both major political parties have their blinders on with respect to certain issues. More often than not it seems to me that the two parties project their own weaknesses on each other - constantly blaming the other side rather than trying to find the kernel of truth behind their seeming opposition.

It has been my experience that Republicans act like Blacks don't have certain disadvantages compared to Whites. I used to think the same way, but my thinking evolved after being exposed to a few things from one of my token black friends.

It was explained to me that: black women have to straighten their hair and put chemicals in their hair to get hired having a "black-sounding" name can be a dampener to getting hired black folks are taught not to travel in groups in stores, because if something gets stolen, they'll get the blame.

I can't imagine having to do any of these in order to get a job. I guess I'm blessed. But, is this an excuse for not succeeding? We have Dr. Ben Carson who came from a poor family, raised by his mother, etc. and made it out to become successful. Booker T. Washington admitted that it was more difficult being black, but that it wasn't an excuse either, and in some respects a blessing due to the hardship.

Further, the black population is getting decimated by the war on drugs also. While I can't prove it, I suspect that the higher murder rates in the inner cities, are in many cases, turf battles over turf for selling drugs. Want a closer look? There is a Vice episode which documents how the violence spread in Chicago. It basically looks like a system that got started and is difficult to break out of due to the nature of the system.

If I attempt to collapse this down into an example issue where it seems like two sides to the same coin: the dems want gun control and the repubs want drug control. IMO, both policies lead towards increased violence. How?

By banning something it automatically creates a black market, which results in increased pricing, which results in profitability, which results in certain segments of the population being attracted to selling whatever has been banned. Remember what happened in Chicago during Prohibition?

[1] http://data.baltimoresun.com/bing-maps/homicides/index.php

At this time, it seems that both the Left and the Right do share a common belief - that there is corruption in our governmental process, though it is a bit of a paradox. The Left generally blames the Right, and business. The Right generally blames the Left, and government and unions.

It is possible that both are not wrong, yet not right either. To investigate some potential ways forward, a few steps back from the presentation situation are necessary.

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 The aim of this article is to reconcile the political differences between the Left and Right in America in the area of taxation and so-called fair shares.
-The two stories that follow illustrate much about much of our entire political process and indeed much of the rest of life:
+Both major political parties have their blinders on with respect to certain issues. More often than not it seems to me that the two parties project their own weaknesses on each other - constantly blaming the other side rather than trying to find the kernel of truth behind their seeming opposition.
+It has been my experience that Republicans act like Blacks don't have certain disadvantages compared to Whites. I used to think the same way, but my thinking evolved after being exposed to a few things from one of my token black friends.
+It was explained to me that:
+black women have to straighten their hair and put chemicals in their hair to get hired
+having a "black-sounding" name can be a dampener to getting hired
+black folks are taught not to travel in groups in stores, because if something gets stolen, they'll get the blame.
+I can't imagine having to do any of these in order to get a job. I guess I'm blessed. But, is this an excuse for not succeeding? We have Dr. Ben Carson who came from a poor family, raised by his mother, etc. and made it out to become successful. Booker T. Washington admitted that it was more difficult being black, but that it wasn't an excuse either, and in some respects a blessing due to the hardship.
+Further, the black population is getting decimated by the war on drugs also. While I can't prove it, I suspect that the higher murder rates in the inner cities, are in many cases, turf battles over turf for selling drugs. Want a closer look? There is a Vice episode which documents how the violence spread in Chicago. It basically looks like a system that got started and is difficult to break out of due to the nature of the system.
+If I attempt to collapse this down into an example issue where it seems like two sides to the same coin: the dems want gun control and the repubs want drug control. IMO, both policies lead towards increased violence. How?
+By banning something it automatically creates a black market, which results in increased pricing, which results in profitability, which results in certain segments of the population being attracted to selling whatever has been banned. Remember what happened in Chicago during Prohibition?
+[1] http://data.baltimoresun.com/bing-maps/homicides/index.php
-Each time the author of this piece picked up a parrot from the store, the parrot sales lady would give him some wisdom about parrots. Her wisdom had broader implications. Once, she said (paraphrasing): the parrot will need to be taken out of his cage and given another area to play during the day, otherwise, he will eventually decide that the cage is his home and he will then need to defend it, i.e., start biting people. Once he starts biting, it begins a downward spiral relationship with whoever claims him.
-There was a child who refused to go out into the sun. When challenged, the child explained: "humans only have 7 layers of skin and that were one to lose them, it would certainly spell certain death.". The child's belief was a misunderstanding of a sunburn which had caused some peeling of his skin after a sunburn and not understanding that skin can regrow. The child's belief had paralyzed him.
 At this time, it seems that both the Left and the Right do share a common belief - that there is corruption in our governmental process, though it is a bit of a paradox.
 The Left generally blames the Right, and business.
 The Right generally blames the Left, and government and unions.
-Thus both the Left and Right have locked themselves into a position - staying in their proverbial cage and perhaps both believing, proverbially, that they sun will take away all their skin.
-It is possible that both are not wrong, yet not right either. To investigate some potential ways forward, a few steps back from the presentation situation are necessary. As thought experiment, let's try to design a fair government from the ground up - what might it look like, ideally and what could go wrong?
+It is possible that both are not wrong, yet not right either. To investigate some potential ways forward, a few steps back from the presentation situation are necessary.