You got here by using the internet, something that is tied together by invisible links. Most of the time you don't even have to think about them. But whether you are aware of them or not, they are the medium in which we swim.
That is the story of our lives. We are unable to connect the dots, to see what is right in front of our faces. Making the invisible visible is what we have to do if we are to do good politics. Last week, I put up a couple posts on talking liberally. Here's one more.
When you are out socializing, chatting, spending holidays with family or co-workers or perfect (or imperfect) strangers, you may be doing something that is becoming extinct - discussing issues with other people. For all of human history, we had long, dark nights and long journeys, and long work days, all of which were likely to be social situations. They were places where people discussed ideas, shared information (and disinformation).
This is increasingly rare in our society. A social situation now may be watching something that excluces conversation.
You may shrug your shoulders and think, better to watch football than to talk with my relatives. Maybe so for the sake of peace in the family, at the job, among your friends.
But there is a down side to this conversation aversion. Conversation is a process that done well can allow us to test our ideas, misconceptions, limited information, bad logic. We converse so rarely these days that our own ideas are rarely tested through the process of interacting with others. We see this all the time. Big leaps in logic. It is easier to see in others than ourselves.
The result is a problem with consistency. It is quite possible to hold contradictory ideas in one's mind but not asking how they both can be true. It is only through conversation that we can see and then rethink our "logic." This sort of conversation is different from arguing or browbeating one another. It is an effort to engage in group education. It is a cooperative effort to get oneself with other folks to take the steps one at a time.
So let me give you some connecting the dots problems to think about. Let me know how it goes.
Following the money
No, not criminal issues. Trace through all the ways that money is being used and affecting our society and world in one area. Take health insurance. We all know that there are all sort of problems with our current system - underinsurance, overinsurance, no insurance; cost; outcomes. So what would be a better system. Remember that the goal here is not to argue for the outcome you favor. The goal here is to find dots and connect dots. Here is one example of identifying connections. It does not consider the effect and enormous costwe all bear for tax deductions to employers who do provide health insurance for their employees.
Who Owns Jobs?
If you put your hand up and started going: "Ooh,ooh, ooh! I know!" you're not playing by the rules. Here are my nominees - the employer, employees, society.
Start with what it means for you to own something, large or small. Talk about ways to acquire ownership in addition to outright purchase. Examples include sweat equity or adverse possession. Consider ways to create rights, including by constitutions, contract, and lesser known options, such as promissory estoppel.
Then discuss what it means to own a job. Examine who meets those requirements. Ask what are the consequences in terms of rights and responsibilities to that ownership.
Continuing the conversation
Report back how this has gone.
