Ben, you've made so many good points I'm going to break up the quote into
shorter bits and respond to them in turn:
<< .... There's a couple of issues here, which is common in politics, and
which
prevents politics from becoming a legitimate "learning" process.
<< 1) The average person gets worked up over insignificant issues. . .but,
issues which they feel need immediate attention. This is a very
near-term view, and totally disregards the underlying forces that will
create a better future. This puts a lot of heat on political candidates. >>
Yes, it does put heat on candidates. What if we were to look at how people
develop a longer-term view? At present, the political process encourages
candidates to stress the short-term, but if no candidate stresses the
long-term, how will voters come to hold a sound, long-term view? Part of the
"job" of candidates is to articulate their "vision" for the electorate, but
most candidates will only articulate "visions that they think will win. This
is a loop we need to break out of.
<< 2) The purpose of a political campaign is to win. Those men and women
who seek public office have tremendous drive and ambition. They
respond to the clamoring of the people, by making promises they don't
intend to keep. How else, they reason, can I get the time and latitude I
need to focus on the larger, more important issues? >>
What if we look at the purpose of a political campaign not as winning, but as
getting elected? or as having a voice in governmental decisions? The "win
at all costs" mentality does drive campaigns in certain (unsavory)
directions. (I liked your example.) Right now, "winning" and "getting
elected" are synonymous; can we separate them somehow?
<< As a participant in the political process I can see a real need for the
American public to become more systemic in their thinking. And, I can
see the need for political candidates to understand the forces at work,
and why they so quickly make promises they don't intend to keep.
Legitimate dialogue between the candidates and the people would be a
good starting point. Unfortunately everyone involved in the political
process feels so strongly about their views that it is difficult to get a
"flow of meaning." >>
Yes, people's passions really do get in the way of constructive thinking.
I'd connect this to your earlier points:
1) The public could be much better at systems thinking, but we all know that
it's not easy to learn it. It will take time, with systems thinking being
seen as a legitimate approach to policy issues, for the public to learn about
it, understand it, and vote for it.
2) I'd wonder how we can get people's emotions to abate a bit. The "win at
all costs" mentality of your example is something that inflames emotions. We
need to understand what is causing those emotions and take steps that would
moderate them.
-Jeff (BrooksJeff@AOL.com)
--Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>