We are a nation searching for direction
The old Washington Liberal compromise that reigned for 60 years, is dead
The new hard crazy Right is dangerous
The new chaotic emergent Left is not quite ready for primetime
What follows is a proposal for an Idea-Web to support the development of a Progressive Alliance
more ...
All over the place, people want a vision for our nation to believe in, because we all know this country has a certain built-in potential, perhaps more than any other, to boldly stride towards greatness
Although imperfect in the details of our history, the US has always been a leader in moving humanity towards the good
We each know we must not now lose that place in history, for to turn one's back on destiny is to choose despair and self-destruction
There are more than enough consciously progressive Americans to create a ruling coalition
But we need to figure out how to talk to one another, otherwise we end up divided and powerless
We will not agree on every issue, every nuance and our local communities will therefore look quite different
But we can agree on a direction for the nation and on certain great values that we are willing to fight for
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The task at hand is to string together as a continuous thread, these great values, through all the complexity and depth of political philosophy, policies, strategy and execution
So that each thing we do politically, connects clearly and coherently to this guiding faith
This continuity gives people strength at times when they may feel challenged
It gives them a leg to stand on when confused and overwhelmed
It allows them to rely on a basic political identity as a safe harbor, even when confronted with seemingly insurmountable complexities on a specific local issue
It allows them to consistently choose to support their team, because they know who the team is, that they can rely on their team, that their team won't turn against them or let them down
When we move from abstract to specific, we make choices
We need to honor and allow for a variety of local and individual choices, implementations, cultures within a 'global' moral context
We need to acknowledge and support incremental movement, and not demand abstract perfection from the get go
We need to be like a family, which nurtures its members
Like a winning team, with it's multiple layers of recruitment, training leagues, coaches, advisors, support crews, etc
Something big, not overly narrow
Something bold, not frustrated, cheap and easy
Something respectable, decent and with lasting staying power
We need to create a new Great American Progressive Alliance, that can last a generation or more
Something that can guide us until the kids who are currently 3 and 4 come of age and bring about what's next
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Right now we are in the exploration and investigation phase, of what this will be
How can we support this process and achieve measured, consistent progress?
The basic infrastructure for this Alliance is an intellectual/moral/political Web of ideas
The Web is made up of Nodes
In a coherent Web, the Nodes connect and support each other
They interface fully and straightforwardly, and you get what you paid for when you buy the cloth; it's free of internal dysfunctions as a political-philosophical approach
At the same time, this Web or cloth must be flexible, multi-purpose and growable
It should be something that adds and supports value in one's life, not something which just takes up space
What are the types of Nodes? We can start with the elements of a cognitive schema a la Lakoff, add in what you find in a political operation, plus some from psychology
Here's a suggested organization of the Node Types in this Web of ideas:
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Place: (Country, State, County, City, District)
History: (what has happened) (these two could expand into another chart of Node Types)
Archetype: (an archetype is a living, somewhat mysterious subconscious vortex, less defined or constructed than a Frame; a kind of background set of fears, hopes and psychological tendencies that inform the rest of the psyche; often generated by collective History)
Characteristic: (a quality which describes a person)
Preference: (liking or not liking something)
Behavior: (a recurring pattern of behavior)
Value: (a quality that is valued or not valued)
Belief: (ties together Values; this Value leads to that Value)
Trope: (slogan which communicates a Belief)
Frame: (an image which synthesizes and organizes many Values)
Common Sense: (reasoning about new situations based on the Frames)
Personality: (Character, an assemblage of the above)
Culture: (a collection of personalities interacting as a whole, which exists at a time and place)
Meme: (a theme/pattern in the evolution/transformation of the Culture)
Message
Context: (for the message)
Audience: (a target Population)
Messenger: (who says it)
Medium: (message mediums)
Image: (for use in messages)
Content: (what's said)
Ideology: (system which seeks to promote and achieve idealized Frames, by some arrangement and prioritization of the above)
Faction: (a political group built around an Ideology)
Party: (a collection of Factions, with an ongoing identity)
Coalition: (a collection of Factions, Parties and others, usually assembled to win an election or to govern during a time period)
PoliticalPersona: (an identity that a political individual or politician embodies in public life, as a way to move an Ideology forward and/or to support the Factions, Parties, Coalitions, etc they are involved with)
Government: (a piece of the governmental apparatus at fed, state, local level)
Political Office: (presidency)
Election/Race:
Candidate:
Term: (term of office)
Metric: (measurable fact about people's lives)
Population: (a group of people, described by a set of Metrics) (people over 50)
Reality: (a reality that some Population is living, as described by a set of Metrics) (people over 50 work longer hours this year than last)
Goal: (policy goal, a target Reality you want to achieve for an Population)
Resource: (something the govt or society can allocate or manage)
Policy: (high-level approach particular types of circumstances, should they arise)
Strategy: (way to organize Policies, Resources to achieve Goals)
Issue : (choice point)
Position: (response to an Issue)
Bill: (a law that govt enacts)
Plan: (coordination of Positions in relation to a set of related Issues and circumstances)
Operation: (execution of portion of a Plan)
Tactic: (way to carry out an Operation)
Logistic: (necessary practicalities to support an Operation)
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We can define other Node Types, add more over time
You may as an individual find some of these areas more interesting and useful than others
The Web of these Nodes can be built as a Wiki
Each Node is then a topic, with a main page, as well as a threaded discussion and links to related articles, sites, datasheets and diaries/postings attached to it. The diaries/postings themselves could have comments.
Each Node Page is linked to the other Nodes that support it or elaborate it
Each Frame page refers the Value pages that Frame supports
Each Ideology page refers to the Frames that Ideology is based on
Each Strategy refers to Ideologies
Each Plan to Positions and Issues
etc
This creates huge integrated idea-structure
As people browse around, comment, evolve, clarify and elaborate each Node, the other related Nodes will tend to evolve as well
We thus have this living, growing idea-net, that looks at any given time, like a coherent description of the Grand Progressive Alliance's cognitive/political structure
Here are some sample pages of such a website
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Characteristic:Passionate
Preference:Wealth, Abundance
Behavior:Goal-oriented Working
Value:Hard Work
talks about what Hard Work as a Value is understood to mean, where the notion came from in American history, etc
Frame:The Hard-Working Taxpayer
Trope:Early to bed, early to rise, etc
Belief:Hard work leads to wealth
Common Sense:If you work hard, you deserve to be rich
Meme:History is moving advanced societies towards work smart, and away from work hard
(need an abbreviation for this)
Metric:# of hours worked per citizen, per year
This could link to a table with data for each state, etc
Population: Americans over 50
Reality:Most Americans over 50 are working more than last year, yet earning the same or less
(again need a shorter title!)
Ideology:Progressive
Goal:Reduce working hours for parents
Resource:Tax Revenue
Policy:Target tax breaks at companies that reduce working hours
Strategy:Raise taxes on polluters while lowering on good companies
Issue:Do we need an IRS?
Position:Keep, but revamp the IRS
Plan:Pass bill A, kill bill B, stall bill C, change bill D, etc
(need a title)
Operation:How to promote bill C
Tactic:Help spread Senator X's Position, Message
Logistic:Allocate y volunteer hours to Senator X's efforts
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