Aggressive Negotiations? Not So Much....
Why must there be “political parties”, in any cultural bubble?
Yeah, I’m here to shake things up a little.
In the beginning, back in the stone age of the Founding of this country, a group of elitist Founding Fathers railed against the formation of political parties. They argued that the creation of such a system would be divisive, and (in updated terminology) counter-productive to the smooth birthing of a new system of government. Just as in England at the time, they saw the results of political partisanship in the Parliament, and in the economics of the day; and it seems to me that it really wasn’t working well for the common people.
I add a caveat here — the common folk were denied the rights of ANY education, freedom of movement, (due to serfdom) and strangled by the lack of access to the bottomless wisdom of past civilizations by the Church. The ruling “class” perpetuated and strengthened its iron-fisted grip on power, out of the fear of being contradicted, overruled and possibly usurped, by those whom they were “destined” to rule. (How sad!!)
I won’t go into any details, because I don’t know everything; but the Magna Carta was a start. But as we all know, it didn’t go far enough; it excluded the commoners; the serfs, and the working people (if I remember correctly). It served only the Church, the lords of their own fiefdoms, and the 2nd tier of aristocrats.
OK, so what about the people who actually made the country and its system work? What about the farmers, the merchants, and the servants? HMM?
(If this sounds like I am advocating for communistic change, then please disabuse yourselves until I present the premise.)
Now that we have awakened to the destructive power of political parties, militaristic gangs, protestations, gatherings, etc., etc., ad nauseum, may I make a humble suggestion (however off-the-wall it may sound)?
1) There is only one human specie. The variety within that specie is evident in skin color, micro-cultural upbringing, traditions of long standing, and geographic location and adaptation. If I wish to partner with a person (of whatever race, culture, sexual orientation), then the society of human-kind shall accept that partnership and learn from it.
2) We will never learn everything that we need to learn, in order to live amicably within out own spheres of influence. Let us also be aware of the fact that we all learn differently, and have our individual preferences, individual strengths and weaknesses. We seem to overlook, or in many cases deny the fact, that learning takes place every day, from various sources, and from multiple people — whether we admit it or not. Why not tap into these sources of learning, of problem-solving, of physical, mental, and/or spiritual growth? It doesn’t matter who teaches, or what the circumstances are. It will never hurt. As Bruce Lee once said, “I Never Lose. I Either Win, OR I Learn!” (Words to live by?)
(ADDENDUM: What is “Winning”? )
(IMO, it is the completion of a task, to the satisfaction of the those involved (but not finalized). (??) Future tasks may modify, improve, or even replace the methods or results of this first task, and therefore upgrade or change, or replace that task, for the benefit of all. (If I remember correctly, when I visited Sweden back in the “dark ages” of the ‘70’s, the telephone book listed not only names and addresses, but also professions or occupations of individuals. GREAT idea?))
(Back to my original point) I humbly propose the recognition of two mega-groups — concepts we already know about but are almost always overlooked. There are the folks who wish to improve life for everyone, and those who do nothing, or give “lip-service” to the work of others. Now, these are not static groups; they are not to be exclusive or discriminating in any way, shape or form. They are fluid and interchangeable, based on individuals. We either roll up sleeves and contribute, or we watch -- and grift off of others’ labor.
Now, in a country as large as ours, and as diverse as ours, this may not work as you and I envision (we will have different opinions, I guarantee). But in order to keep things moving along smoothly, we need a working infrastructure (as an example); someone to manage, upgrade, improve it, or even replace it with something better, etc. We already recognize part of it as “Road Construction!”) Some parts of our infrastructure are now neglected or ignored (Case in point — Flint Michigan’s water system) through political machinations detrimental to the Common Good. (We overlook the almost unlimited fountain of wisdom, contained in almost ever living human in this culture.The solution is to tap into this fountain, then act on it.)
Let’s not consider the details of money, time, or convenience. The need is there. I remember a blurb with Rachel Maddow interviewing a plumbing contractor, while walking a street in residential Flint, may years ago. He declared that he could replace the entire residential block’s plumbing system — in-house, and underground — in only a week! Why he couldn’t, was political pressure from the “elite” in Lansing. (Not real helpful to the common good)
Solution in this case? Know your water system for the block. Plan; announce the plan to residents, then start digging! Let the logistics be included in your plan. Settle up when the job is done.
Don’t want to settle up? There will be a plan for that. I leave it up to your imagination about the methods of recompense. Equal compensation for equal results — however it comes.
Political parties were, and are, IMO, detrimental to the proper functioning of a government aimed at improving the common good. When a system can take care of its people, the people can take care of it, to insure its function. Even in the Bible it is written that “if a man has two coats, and meets a man who has none, he will give that man one of his coats. For such is the way of heaven” — or, something like that.
Don’t wait to be asked to help. Let’s just keep our eyes open; the opportunities will come to us, so let’s take advantage of them. Let us all learn, roll up sleeves, know that everyone has talents and abilities (along with their personal faults). Let’s tap into those talents, and the shortcoming will diminish through application of learning, of action, attention and (as the Buddha said) “right-mindedness”. Don’t run the proverbial “balance sheet” in your head; it makes people greedy. Greed has no concept of satiety. This is a fact.
Greed also has no place in a working society. When one person is hurting, others pitch in. This is especially true in certain close-knit rural areas, and this concept needs to be recognized throughout the country.
These are my thoughts; the premise is an exposure of the cancer that is the system of political parties. Divided, we all suffer. But by working and living together, we all thrive, we all benefit, and we all grow and enrich our lives.
