THE WAR OF THE WORDS

I always thought my interest in what was going on around me was political, but I'm not too sure now. My interest doesn't meet the definition of politics-- the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. I really don't care about "governance" or "power." What I really care about is why people believe as they do. I think now that my interest all this time has not been politics, it's psychology. The mental characteristics or attitude of a person or group. It's not that there is no relationship between politics and psychology it just seems people who believe certain ways do tend to associate with certain political parties. My quest is to try to understand others thinking, not to engage in the fruitless task of persuading others to change political parties because that is really asking others to change their beliefs. Beliefs are the core of who we are and are guarded fiercely.

Any issues I put on blogs or Facebook posts are designed to generate a discussion. I really want to understand how a person living basically in the same culture, with the same general education and economic level as I have can believe so differently than I do. (I do understand there is distinct possibility I may be wrong, and I am willing to entertain that possibility.)

Even if there were no such things as political parties people would have different views on what we classify as political subjects (even though one would be hard pressed to find these subjects in the Constitution). Subjects like:

Health Care

Climate change

Same-Sex Marriage

Abortion

Capital Punishment

Welfare

Competition

Minimum Wage

Debt

Immigration

Redistribution

etc. etc. etc.

Many of these issues have been covered in my previous Blogs, and as a thinking human being, I have certain views on each subject. I believe if there were no such thing as political parties, I would still have those views. For example:

I believe that we as a society should contribute and help those of us who NEED the help of others. I do not believe, for their good or ours, we should be helping those who just WANT the help of others.

I believe that the climate has changed since the earth was invented and any change today is CONTRIBUTED to by humans (and by butterflies in Peru). I do not believe the continual change in climate is CAUSED by humans.

I believe that sports are a part of the character development of young people and a preparation for the challenges of life. I don't believe in sports being watered down by games with no scores and "participation" trophies presented so some of our precious prodigies won't "feel bad."

I believe that if you raise a person's wage from $8 to $15 that additional money is coming from somewhere, and an artificial stimulus added from outside the natural flow of a business is counter productive. A business is in business to make a profit by selling a product or service that someone wants at a price he or she is willing to pay. I do not believe that a business is in business to provide a place to work where employees can be fulfilled and make as much money as the employees feel they need to live at the level they wish to live.

I believe that the 300 million guns on the streets are too many to ever "confiscate." We are passed that. We must make their misuse severely punishable. I do not believe the government requiring additional paperwork will do anything to curtail the activities we wish to curtail.

These are examples of the way I view the various issues of the day. I do believe I would view these issues the same if I lived in a dictatorship or a country with 10 political parties. My beliefs are what make sense to me; they are generated by my life experiences and my conception of common sense.

Not wishing to be alone with my beliefs, I would naturally look around for like-minded people. My beliefs, not in themselves "political," find themselves at home in the conservative wing of the Republican party. I assume those who believe differently than I do would find their kind of folks in the Liberal wing of the Democrat party. (Those who have not even given these issues a scintilla of thought are probably currently matriculating in our various universities.)

I wonder what comes first? Does one take on certain core beliefs because of life's experiences, then look around for a group, political or otherwise, that supports that belief, or does a person, because of family affiliations, adopt the beliefs of the family group-think? (Growing up on the north side of Chicago, it was in my DNA to be a Cubs fan. Those brought up on the south side were Sox fans. No matter how many facts were produced to change our minds; minds would not be changed. I think our political arguments today are really Cub/Sox arguments.)

The question keeps coming up as to why we seem to be so divided today. I am sure we were divided during the Civil War also, but maybe divided over a couple of issues, big ones I General Grant you, but today it seems we are divided over every little thing. Why?  I'm thinking much has to do with the expansion of the media. I personally have come from a time with 3 network TV stations and no talk radio, to wall to wall opinions being directed at me 24/7. I didn't realize that many different opinions even existed! In the "old days" we not only didn't have the media to inform us of contrary views, I'm not sure views were that "contrary"...Climate change, of course it does, always has. No question about helping others, "Let's have barn raisin'." Competition? You were a winner or a loser. You got paid what you were worth, and everybody had a gun and knew how to use it. And my guess is that Same Sex marriage wasn't a big topic around the campfire. Today, do we have so much free time we are just making up stuff to argue about?

Politics is such a white-hot issue; maybe we could just take our disagreements outside the realm of politics and put them more in the Cubs/Sox category. When you think about it, how much can we, you or I, actually do about any of the political stances we take? I would like the Republicans to win because they are a group who encompass my world view. Just for 100% intellectual curiosity I would like to understand the "other side," while at the same time understanding I am the "other side" to the "other side."

The 2016 election campaign, if the primaries are any indication, will be a verbal bloodbath. Unless we wish to sink to the level of our current politicians, we need to separate ourselves from the rhetoric of the political parties, know what WE believe, have confidence in our opinion, express it civilly, and go Cubs!