Before You Vote Again, Take
This Tough Challenge
This Tough Challenge
Politics and Rights Life
Why We Vote
Why We Vote
Politics
When we speak of politics today, what do we actually mean ? Usually we think either of the process by which laws are proposed, discussed and decided on ; or of the process of elections, by which we choose who'll represent us in government, at various local and higher levels. To participate in all this as citizens, we vote - but is this all we can, or should do ?
We vote just infrequently, but the activities of government unfold constantly. We might ask ourselves - regularly, even - what are our elected "representatives" actually doing, and how does this affects our lives - especially in the longer term ?
We might also think about the direction of initiative in government. Candidates seeking election tell us or are asked what they want to do, and obediently, we vote - but we're seldom really asked what we want. It in fact happens frequently that, once elected, our "representatives" do things virtually no one in their constituencies asked for ; and create policies almost impossible to reverse. I think of this perverse, yet common course of affairs as "government turned on it's head" : government that does more, less or even the opposite of what it's intended or needed to do. People complain of this worldwide today, and are clearly unhappy. It becomes more and more pressing to ask
- How and why does this happen so often in society ?
- What can be done about it ?
- What would be better ? And perhaps the biggest question of all :
- What is government actually for ?
Rights Life
As noted previously in this series of articles, elections, voting, government and politics all unfold in the realm of what we've called rights life : namely, measures and agreements people establish on the one hand to assure rights and freedoms they need in order to live their lives ; and on the other for their mutual safety.
Rights life is needed in society because, for various reasons, people do things that cause each other injury, harm and/or loss. Harm we cause each other may be due to simple error or oversight, or to actual malice and intent. It may be complicated by impulses to ignore, deny and/or hide mistakes made - but no matter the cause, it disrupts human life, and over time, makes it intolerable. Occasions of injury/harm/loss arise in all realms of human life - and because all human beings have a need to be free of these things, they must be dealt with constantly.
More than just physical harm, injury etc, "harm" includes attacks or erosion of human rights and freedoms : freedom of speech, movement, assembly ; rights to privacy, due process of law and others, as outlined for instance in the American Bill of Rights and elsewhere in the U.S. Constitution. Rights life also properly includes protections and redress of injury and harm done to the environment - physical, economic etc - common to all, and upon which all depend.
Practically, rights life includes the work of discerning and identifying harm occurring in various situations in society ; identifying and agreeing on remedies ; and ensuring that these remedies are carried out. This can and should of course be done directly between people where possible ; but recurrent problems in society require broader agreements and action. This is the core - and possibly only - legitimate task of human government.
Rights life, as noted, addresses the broadest range of harms and injuries, and an equally broad range of remedies. An archetypal need and activity of human social life, it requires flexibility as the needs of society change. It also requires that rights and protections be equal among citizens, and that they have an equal say in determining these things.
Rights life is made possible in society by the human capacities of reflection, insight and empathy - the ability to recognize one's own needs for safety, dignity and a human life - "a life worth living" - and the same needs in others, as if they were one's own.
Agreements people reach concerning rights, freedoms, safety and harm form the basis for laws ; and once established, the legitimate basis for their enforcement.
To summarize, if rights life in its healthiest form sends a message to the individual human being, it would be of the nature of
"You are unique, valued - irreplaceable. If you do harm, you will be stopped, and held accountable - you can count on this. But except if you do harm, you are free to work, learn, create, communicate, associate and thrive unhindered. You will have an equal say in any new rules created ; and equal treatment under rules already made."
When we speak of politics today, what do we actually mean ? Usually we think either of the process by which laws are proposed, discussed and decided on ; or of the process of elections, by which we choose who'll represent us in government, at various local and higher levels. To participate in all this as citizens, we vote - but is this all we can, or should do ?
We vote just infrequently, but the activities of government unfold constantly. We might ask ourselves - regularly, even - what are our elected "representatives" actually doing, and how does this affects our lives - especially in the longer term ?
We might also think about the direction of initiative in government. Candidates seeking election tell us or are asked what they want to do, and obediently, we vote - but we're seldom really asked what we want. It in fact happens frequently that, once elected, our "representatives" do things virtually no one in their constituencies asked for ; and create policies almost impossible to reverse. I think of this perverse, yet common course of affairs as "government turned on it's head" : government that does more, less or even the opposite of what it's intended or needed to do. People complain of this worldwide today, and are clearly unhappy. It becomes more and more pressing to ask
- How and why does this happen so often in society ?
- What can be done about it ?
- What would be better ? And perhaps the biggest question of all :
- What is government actually for ?
Rights Life
As noted previously in this series of articles, elections, voting, government and politics all unfold in the realm of what we've called rights life : namely, measures and agreements people establish on the one hand to assure rights and freedoms they need in order to live their lives ; and on the other for their mutual safety.
Rights life is needed in society because, for various reasons, people do things that cause each other injury, harm and/or loss. Harm we cause each other may be due to simple error or oversight, or to actual malice and intent. It may be complicated by impulses to ignore, deny and/or hide mistakes made - but no matter the cause, it disrupts human life, and over time, makes it intolerable. Occasions of injury/harm/loss arise in all realms of human life - and because all human beings have a need to be free of these things, they must be dealt with constantly.
More than just physical harm, injury etc, "harm" includes attacks or erosion of human rights and freedoms : freedom of speech, movement, assembly ; rights to privacy, due process of law and others, as outlined for instance in the American Bill of Rights and elsewhere in the U.S. Constitution. Rights life also properly includes protections and redress of injury and harm done to the environment - physical, economic etc - common to all, and upon which all depend.
Practically, rights life includes the work of discerning and identifying harm occurring in various situations in society ; identifying and agreeing on remedies ; and ensuring that these remedies are carried out. This can and should of course be done directly between people where possible ; but recurrent problems in society require broader agreements and action. This is the core - and possibly only - legitimate task of human government.
Rights life, as noted, addresses the broadest range of harms and injuries, and an equally broad range of remedies. An archetypal need and activity of human social life, it requires flexibility as the needs of society change. It also requires that rights and protections be equal among citizens, and that they have an equal say in determining these things.
Rights life is made possible in society by the human capacities of reflection, insight and empathy - the ability to recognize one's own needs for safety, dignity and a human life - "a life worth living" - and the same needs in others, as if they were one's own.
Agreements people reach concerning rights, freedoms, safety and harm form the basis for laws ; and once established, the legitimate basis for their enforcement.
To summarize, if rights life in its healthiest form sends a message to the individual human being, it would be of the nature of
"You are unique, valued - irreplaceable. If you do harm, you will be stopped, and held accountable - you can count on this. But except if you do harm, you are free to work, learn, create, communicate, associate and thrive unhindered. You will have an equal say in any new rules created ; and equal treatment under rules already made."
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UNIFYING Points and Principles
The United States Declaration of Independence Have you read this document in its entirety ? Take the time to do so now - and come back to it any time you vote in future. Pay special attention to the grievances this Declaration lists, which are incredibly concrete, and based on specific harm and injuries done. Consider that had those actions not been perpetrated, this document (and what followed) might never have been enacted at all. This Declaration, the Revolutionary War and the American Constitution - the basis of our rights, freedoms and form of government - all came about to create protection against, and redress of, injuries, harm and loss, as noted above - and for no other stated reason. This is important to understanding the proper roles - and limits - of government. |
Unnoticed WRONG TURN : Political Parties
The Founders of our American form of government abhorred political parties, and warned against them gravely and repeatedly. Why ?
The need for governments, as noted, arises out of our inherent and ongoing human tendency to error ; and insofar as we interact with others, our need for protection from, or redress of their errors, trespasses, etc. Because human beings have certain needs of these kinds in common, agreement is also possible, on the basis of honest communication, both as to the kinds of actions that are problematic, and on solutions needed to correct them. Identification of common concerns is thus a core, necessary activity in human social life ; and agreements on solutions are pillars of its orderly, harmonious unfolding. These processes are core functions of rights life, and of all tasks governments may take upon themselves, the most legitimate.
Political parties typically champion some part of the concerns people have in this realm of rights life - and ignore, oppose or simply fail to notice others. But they are in fact all important - one or another simply being more actively relevant or challenged at different times, and in different ways for different people.
Rights life is in fact a unified field, and is damaged by this element of picking and choosing. It opens the door to divisions, to more intense extremes of sympathy and antipathy, and undermines the faculty of empathy upon which rights life depends. Not least, the forming of sects, factions and parties provides entry points for special interests, including but not limited to economic interests, that exploit conflicts and differences for their own ends. The impulse to political parties is a constant temptation in rights life, and an aberration to the healthy rights process.
Individual and Collective
Once embarked upon, these divisions have their own process, by which social differences are emphasized and, inevitably, hardened. What should optimally be a process of clarifications and agreements, becomes increasingly one of power. Emphasis on and the valuing of the human individual in rights life shifts, mostly unnoticed, to identification of and appeals to various "collectives" - racial, religious, economic or gender based, and others.
It should be noted that a "collective" is a definition, a kind of mental tool - but human beings in real life are individuals, always. And while identifying with a collective may have benefits in terms of power, the power can also be turned against one.
In an age of collectives, the status of the individual in society has declined. The lone, isolated individual has become suspect, vulnerable to attack by any self-identified collective, which may itself be quietly manipulated by power-minded individuals. Even if not explicit, the risk to be "cancelled", "deplatformed", lose one's livelihood at any time, all virtually without recourse, takes its toll on personal expression, on initiative and psychologically.
Again, the individual is the basic unit of human society - we are all one ! But the message in the wind has changed, to something more of this nature :
" You, yourself, are alone ; by yourself nothing, of no account. For what you would do, you must have permission ; and if ordered, you must obey. The rules of society are established. If you resist - in thought, word or deed - you will be punished."
Party Platform and Party Discipline
To consolidate their identity and differentiate themselves from rival groups, political parties typically formalize their beliefs, values and positions on various matters, in the form of a party platform ; which then forms the basis for its specific goals and strategies - a unified program. Political parties platforms carry an air of idealism, something of which a party's various constituency-collectives can be proud, and rally behind. But amid the good feelings, it's easy to miss that as they rally for something, they somehow inevitably find themselves rallying against the "something" of someone else. Why ?
It's unfortunate, but important to note that oppositions, and all their eventual consequences, begin inevitably when our universal human concerns in the realm of rights life were divided into parts and pieces, and claimed by our various political parties.
Adherence to party platforms, termed party discipline, has been more and more strictly enforced on elected officials over time, with penalties both formal and informal, up to and including denial of party funds and support. Individual party "planks" (positions) may be and are also "captured" by those most fanatical on an issue, or who represent special interests (including economic ones). Here the great majority of "elected representatives", sent to represent the great majority of citizens, are held hostage to a powerful few. Perversely, this will be done in the name of the collective/constituency, and be dressed in a cloak of secular holiness. Policies - and injustices - enshrined in this way are almost impossible to get rid of - and are precisely the phenomenon described earlier as "government stood on its head".
The Founders of our American form of government abhorred political parties, and warned against them gravely and repeatedly. Why ?
The need for governments, as noted, arises out of our inherent and ongoing human tendency to error ; and insofar as we interact with others, our need for protection from, or redress of their errors, trespasses, etc. Because human beings have certain needs of these kinds in common, agreement is also possible, on the basis of honest communication, both as to the kinds of actions that are problematic, and on solutions needed to correct them. Identification of common concerns is thus a core, necessary activity in human social life ; and agreements on solutions are pillars of its orderly, harmonious unfolding. These processes are core functions of rights life, and of all tasks governments may take upon themselves, the most legitimate.
Political parties typically champion some part of the concerns people have in this realm of rights life - and ignore, oppose or simply fail to notice others. But they are in fact all important - one or another simply being more actively relevant or challenged at different times, and in different ways for different people.
Rights life is in fact a unified field, and is damaged by this element of picking and choosing. It opens the door to divisions, to more intense extremes of sympathy and antipathy, and undermines the faculty of empathy upon which rights life depends. Not least, the forming of sects, factions and parties provides entry points for special interests, including but not limited to economic interests, that exploit conflicts and differences for their own ends. The impulse to political parties is a constant temptation in rights life, and an aberration to the healthy rights process.
Individual and Collective
Once embarked upon, these divisions have their own process, by which social differences are emphasized and, inevitably, hardened. What should optimally be a process of clarifications and agreements, becomes increasingly one of power. Emphasis on and the valuing of the human individual in rights life shifts, mostly unnoticed, to identification of and appeals to various "collectives" - racial, religious, economic or gender based, and others.
It should be noted that a "collective" is a definition, a kind of mental tool - but human beings in real life are individuals, always. And while identifying with a collective may have benefits in terms of power, the power can also be turned against one.
In an age of collectives, the status of the individual in society has declined. The lone, isolated individual has become suspect, vulnerable to attack by any self-identified collective, which may itself be quietly manipulated by power-minded individuals. Even if not explicit, the risk to be "cancelled", "deplatformed", lose one's livelihood at any time, all virtually without recourse, takes its toll on personal expression, on initiative and psychologically.
Again, the individual is the basic unit of human society - we are all one ! But the message in the wind has changed, to something more of this nature :
" You, yourself, are alone ; by yourself nothing, of no account. For what you would do, you must have permission ; and if ordered, you must obey. The rules of society are established. If you resist - in thought, word or deed - you will be punished."
Party Platform and Party Discipline
To consolidate their identity and differentiate themselves from rival groups, political parties typically formalize their beliefs, values and positions on various matters, in the form of a party platform ; which then forms the basis for its specific goals and strategies - a unified program. Political parties platforms carry an air of idealism, something of which a party's various constituency-collectives can be proud, and rally behind. But amid the good feelings, it's easy to miss that as they rally for something, they somehow inevitably find themselves rallying against the "something" of someone else. Why ?
It's unfortunate, but important to note that oppositions, and all their eventual consequences, begin inevitably when our universal human concerns in the realm of rights life were divided into parts and pieces, and claimed by our various political parties.
Adherence to party platforms, termed party discipline, has been more and more strictly enforced on elected officials over time, with penalties both formal and informal, up to and including denial of party funds and support. Individual party "planks" (positions) may be and are also "captured" by those most fanatical on an issue, or who represent special interests (including economic ones). Here the great majority of "elected representatives", sent to represent the great majority of citizens, are held hostage to a powerful few. Perversely, this will be done in the name of the collective/constituency, and be dressed in a cloak of secular holiness. Policies - and injustices - enshrined in this way are almost impossible to get rid of - and are precisely the phenomenon described earlier as "government stood on its head".
Threefold Attack on Rights Life
It's been said of America that it's actually not the leading culture of our times we think it is ; but that it will only come into its own in the very far future. The promise of America for the world, however, is already here in seed, through the events and documents of its founding.
But the development of a seed - or by now, perhaps, a very young plant - is by no means guaranteed, and it may yet die if not properly cared for. It has specific needs, according to its particular nature. We take pride in the soil (human and natural) in which our own seed fell, and joy in its robust growth. But good land can also become desert under bad human human stewardship. This is a hard fact of agriculture - and well confirmed by history.
1) A first serious danger to rights life is an outlook that idealizes and/or demand rights and freedoms, but sees these things primarily in terms of self interest. This is a one-sided tendency in all human beings, that manifests across the political spectrum, differing only in choice of issues. Emphasis is on my (or our) rights/freedoms, my or our bodies, our right to run our business as we please, the possibilities these open to us, and our loss if they're restricted. Not addressed in this dynamic are effects and consequences on others, which may be ignored, denied and/or rejected as their responsibility.
Whether on left or right, this mindset may revere founders and documents, but not grasp the deeper principles, the ongoing work and process they entail. It does not take up the full tools available, or use them in the ways needed. Other essential rights, freedoms and people affected may be ignored, or left to the mercies of special or predatory interests. The failures of this mindset are ones of empathy (beyond our own needs and interests) ; and of participation.
2) A second dangerous mindset aims beyond protection of rights and freedom, beyond mere relief and redress of harms, to guarantee the well being of citizens ; and for this reason feels justified to regulate, manage or control all manner of activities in society, and if necessary, the entirety of social life. It sees rights not so much in terms of the freedoms, safety and dignity of human beings, but primarily in economic and material ones. This mindset values health, comfort, convenience, pleasure and wealth, primarily as manifestations of physical well being. It treats as evil any threat to these things, viewing these as utilitarian problems to be identified, controlled and punished systematically.
The growth of a controlling, more or less mechanized system for "the greater good" and protection of society, unfortunately means a loss of freedom for individual human beings. This has come gradually in recent centuries, and we now take it almost completely for granted. It's especially far advanced in the realm of work and professions. Government today exercises control in virtually every aspect of licensing, practice, even professional education in virtually every branch of professional life. This extends further into the most basic activities of life : the certification of marriages, births and deaths, the right to own or drive a car, all aspects of owning or using land, building any structure or operating any business. Beyond powers to allow and define activities and relationships, comes power to deny, suppress or punish them.
While these measures appear to offer protections against human error and misdeeds, they also quietly set limits and controls on human knowledge, on what is "acceptable" to think, on human action and expression overall. This must inevitably cause problems, as no new idea, innovation or improvement can enter human society except through some individual human being, or through individuals working together. Yet the trend, increasingly, is to control human initiative in ever more ways, and ever more closely. Besides effects on our actions and interactions in society, they also affect our mindset towards each other - and ourselves.
3) Besides effects on our actions and interactions in society, they also affect our mindset towards each other - and ourselves.
A third damaging mindset in our times can only be described as a certain aggressive hostility towards the human being.
Besides effects on our actions and interactions in society, they also affect our mindset towards each other - and ourselves.
The first owards this end it feels justified to take the practice of medicine, teaching and virtually any skilled work from te hands of he professions regulated not by the profession concerned, but by the state. This extends also to the most basic activities of life : the recording of births and deaths, the right to own or drive a car, all aspects of owning or using land, building any structure or operating a business.
It's been said of America that it's actually not the leading culture of our times we think it is ; but that it will only come into its own in the very far future. The promise of America for the world, however, is already here in seed, through the events and documents of its founding.
But the development of a seed - or by now, perhaps, a very young plant - is by no means guaranteed, and it may yet die if not properly cared for. It has specific needs, according to its particular nature. We take pride in the soil (human and natural) in which our own seed fell, and joy in its robust growth. But good land can also become desert under bad human human stewardship. This is a hard fact of agriculture - and well confirmed by history.
1) A first serious danger to rights life is an outlook that idealizes and/or demand rights and freedoms, but sees these things primarily in terms of self interest. This is a one-sided tendency in all human beings, that manifests across the political spectrum, differing only in choice of issues. Emphasis is on my (or our) rights/freedoms, my or our bodies, our right to run our business as we please, the possibilities these open to us, and our loss if they're restricted. Not addressed in this dynamic are effects and consequences on others, which may be ignored, denied and/or rejected as their responsibility.
Whether on left or right, this mindset may revere founders and documents, but not grasp the deeper principles, the ongoing work and process they entail. It does not take up the full tools available, or use them in the ways needed. Other essential rights, freedoms and people affected may be ignored, or left to the mercies of special or predatory interests. The failures of this mindset are ones of empathy (beyond our own needs and interests) ; and of participation.
2) A second dangerous mindset aims beyond protection of rights and freedom, beyond mere relief and redress of harms, to guarantee the well being of citizens ; and for this reason feels justified to regulate, manage or control all manner of activities in society, and if necessary, the entirety of social life. It sees rights not so much in terms of the freedoms, safety and dignity of human beings, but primarily in economic and material ones. This mindset values health, comfort, convenience, pleasure and wealth, primarily as manifestations of physical well being. It treats as evil any threat to these things, viewing these as utilitarian problems to be identified, controlled and punished systematically.
The growth of a controlling, more or less mechanized system for "the greater good" and protection of society, unfortunately means a loss of freedom for individual human beings. This has come gradually in recent centuries, and we now take it almost completely for granted. It's especially far advanced in the realm of work and professions. Government today exercises control in virtually every aspect of licensing, practice, even professional education in virtually every branch of professional life. This extends further into the most basic activities of life : the certification of marriages, births and deaths, the right to own or drive a car, all aspects of owning or using land, building any structure or operating any business. Beyond powers to allow and define activities and relationships, comes power to deny, suppress or punish them.
While these measures appear to offer protections against human error and misdeeds, they also quietly set limits and controls on human knowledge, on what is "acceptable" to think, on human action and expression overall. This must inevitably cause problems, as no new idea, innovation or improvement can enter human society except through some individual human being, or through individuals working together. Yet the trend, increasingly, is to control human initiative in ever more ways, and ever more closely. Besides effects on our actions and interactions in society, they also affect our mindset towards each other - and ourselves.
3) Besides effects on our actions and interactions in society, they also affect our mindset towards each other - and ourselves.
A third damaging mindset in our times can only be described as a certain aggressive hostility towards the human being.
Besides effects on our actions and interactions in society, they also affect our mindset towards each other - and ourselves.
The first owards this end it feels justified to take the practice of medicine, teaching and virtually any skilled work from te hands of he professions regulated not by the profession concerned, but by the state. This extends also to the most basic activities of life : the recording of births and deaths, the right to own or drive a car, all aspects of owning or using land, building any structure or operating a business.