Polarization, Futility

Polarization

Futility

Perhaps the greatest defect of polarization is its futility: for it expends all its energy fighting between its two extreme views.  Doubtless, if we stop to think, there are truths on both sides: the best solution will embrace both truths in balance.  Certainly, if we pause to consider, there are risks at either hand: the best resolution will seek to avoid all risks as equally as possible.  Part of the problem here is that polarization stops us from listening carefully to the other side; from hearing our adversaries’ points of view; from trying, for a time, to walk in that other person’s shoes.

Oh, now I see what you mean, solves many problems.  If we do this and this we can find a better path, with fewer risks.  If we incorporate this feature, the problem goes away.

Part of the problem is that solving problems is a unique set of skills that all people do not possess.  It’s a talent, a gift from God.

Very few politicians are problem solvers, though many may pride themselves in this gift, which they do not have.  Politicians are movers and shakers: their gift is to debate and force decisions.  For most, that is all they are able to do.  Consider the current polarity, it is stymied by inactivity; politicians, not knowing which decision to make are frozen in their tracks; their ability to move and shake is stuck on pause: for there is no clear solution.

Almost no bureaucrats are problem solvers, either; though conceit still plagues us all.  Bureaucrats are maintainers: their gift is to keep established systems going.  Bureaucrats are good at keeping records, enforcing established laws, obeying set policies and principles.  When confronted with a new kind of problem, they are hopelessly lost about what to do.  The system shuts down again.

Some people are gifted at solving problems, and trained to be better at it: designers, engineers, inventors, mathematicians, mechanics, scientists, technicians — strategists; artists, coaches, cops, firemen, housewives, quarterbacks, soldiers in the field, trouble shooters — tacticians.  The strategist solves problems by thorough planning and experimentally finding breakthroughs: the usual output is a design.  The tactician solves problems in real time: the usual output is instantaneous, decisive action.  Very few problem solvers get tied up in politics or bureaucracy; because problem solvers usually see such things as a worthless waste of time.  Problem solvers often lie to politicians and bureaucrats, just to get them off their backs, so they can go back to real work: this happens because the problem solver perceives that politicians and bureaucrats: a. don’t really care about solving problems: it’s a feigned interest; b. wouldn’t understand the problem or solution, even when explained in the simplest terms: it’s an incapable interest.

As a result, problem solving teams may not be brought into play whenever necessary.  Politicians, bureaucrats, and problem solvers are simply different kinds of people; people that rarely play well together.

Moreover, many problems have no solution.  Our current polarization, perhaps most polarizations, involve death, or at least unbearable quantities of human pain and suffering.  The problem of death has no human solution; "it’s a 100% statistic; we’re all going to make it."  However, death doesn’t shock us so much, except when it involves someone who is a lot younger than we are; or if it involves great masses of people; or both: these we deem to be tragedies.  Also, the sterility of modern life has left us with an illusion of immortality: we don’t have to kill a chicken for dinner with our bare hands, down on the farm; death is something we get out of the freezer.  Thus, we are hit with a devastating one-two punch: the current polarization shocks us with an unsolvable tragedy, death; at the same time that our myopic delusion has left us most vulnerable.  We “can’t handle the truth”, or death.

If we really want better solutions to the current vexing polarization problem, we will have to shove all the politicians and bureaucrats out of the way, off the field, and put a team of problem solvers to work.  It doesn’t make much difference which problem solvers we start with: for problem solvers are very good at identifying the need for new additional skills.  Let problem solvers go to work and they will figure out and build the best problem solving team for the job.

In the meantime, polarization faces the inevitable futility of never finding a solution.  All that polarization does is spin its wheels hopelessly in the mud.  What is needed is to find a tow truck, or drivers that really know what they’re doing….

Polarization, Enemies

Polarization

Enemies

No doubt, we have enemies.  Let’s hope that God is not among them.  The Law, love God and keep His commandments,[i] is also the exact opposite of political polarization.  If we are politically polarized, we cannot be loving God.  Abraham was the friend of God: we are supposed to be Abraham’s children.

God hates slavery, and wages war against every form of slavery.  That is the explicit message of Exodus 20:1-2

“God spoke all these words, “I am Yahweh your God, I have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

The Ten Commandments detail God’s declaration of war against slavery.  In their exact center, He says:

“Honor your Father and your Mother: that your days may be long upon the earth which Yahweh your God gives you.”

So, standing in the center of these Commandments is the Son, the Prince, Jesus Christ Crucified, the only One Who ever honored Father and Mother perfectly.  He is the One Who has brought this Law to pass.  All the rest of Torah is details and explanation.

Augustine speaks of the Law of Faith, as opposed to the Law of flesh.  The Jews mistakenly supposed that they could fulfill this Law in the flash: they failed bitterly.  Very many Christians believe, that they need pay no attention to this Law, that it doesn’t apply to them.  But, St. John (in 1 John 5) will not let us off the hook so easily: for he repeats verbatim, the same Commands found in Deuteronomy and elsewhere in the Old Testament.

We can try to repeat the experiment of the Jews in the flesh: but, we will fare no better than they: we will also fail bitterly.  What Augustine suggests, God declares openly, that the Law of God will be written on our hearts.  What once was the stone-written power and sentence of death; has now become the central life giving force within us: Christ is in our hearts, the Spirit is within our hearts, the Father is within our hearts: in Christ, we have fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law; in Christ, we are a new creation.  This is the Law of Faith.

Ought we now suppose that what was once written on stone, “You shall not murder”, now has God’s approval, we are free to murder without discretion.  Or is the Law of Faith many magnitudes greater than the law of flesh?  Is it not the case that persistent murderers have proved their unbelief by their actions?  So, every form of lending and usury bonds our neighbor to us as our slave; being just another form of murder: as also are idolatry, abuse of God’s name, false worship, adultery, theft, perjury, covetousness, and the like.

Or are we now more free than ever to nurse our grudges, harbor our bitterness; refusing to forgive even the slightest offense?

Or is political polarization waging war against God; selling our neighbors back into slavery?  We don’t seriously believe that we can win a war against God, do we?

Polarization is all its forms is a soul-destroying enemy; it pits neighbor against neighbor: but, it also pits humanity against God.  We cannot be the friends of God and still be polarized….

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[i] Yes, it does say exactly that: Deuteronomy 7:9; 11:1, 22; 19:9; 30:16; Joshua 22:5; Nehemiah 1:5; Daniel 9:4; 1 John 5:2-3

Polarization, Opposites

Polarization

Opposites

The law, Love neighbor as self; do to others, as you would have them do, is the exact opposite of political polarization.  If we are politically polarized, we cannot be obeying God.  If we are obeying God, we cannot be political polarized.  It’s wrong.  Let’s try to fix it.

Obviously, in any dispute, both sides usually have a legitimate grievance.  Neither side is completely right; neither side is completely wrong: the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.  Where do we begin?  By trying to listen to each other.

We cannot solve problems unless we treat each other with gentleness and respect… pretty hard to do if one or both of us is in a lot of pain: for example, suffering from grief over dead children.  So, we have to work through the grief first.  That could take five years or longer.

We cannot solve problems if one or both sides is buried in bitterness: for example, the stinging pain of a century or more of slavery, and unjust segregation.  Now, we learn the hard way that modern business employment is just another form of slavery.  Who is not bitter over that?  We have to remove the sting of bitterness first.  Barring miracles, that could take another century.

Are we willing to forgive and forget those who have been complicit in the death of our children?  Pretty hard to do, isn’t it?  Still, it must be done for grief clouds our vision.  Out of 350 million fellow Americans, where maybe 350 individuals are at fault: our grief causes us to lash out at everybody else, even those who are suffering grief with us.  We have 350 million friends.  We see, irrationally, 350 million enemies.  Even some of those involved in the deaths of our children are truly sorry: but, our grief keeps us from seeing that.

Are we willing to forgive and forget those who have been duplicit in our slaver?  That may be even harder to do.  There is no evidence whatsoever that those involved in lending, usury, and all the rest, are the least bit sorry for their evil deeds: they seem to think that they have a God given right to enslave others.  Very well, God has an app for that, Love even your enemies.  So, as we attempt to tear down the castles, fortresses, and halls of lending, and usury, we work to forgive the individuals involved… seeing most of them as just as entrapped in an evil system as we are.

We have 350 million friends in America, most of whom share the same hopes and dreams that we do.  We have nearly 7.5 billion fellow human beings worldwide, pretty much in the same boat as we are: although, if we’re honest about it, we realize that Americans are a lot better off than most of the world.  The point is that, we will make much better progress if we figure out how to work together.  If we figure out how to build, and stop destroying our own neighborhoods.  America is our house: most of us still have to live here….

Polarization, Disagreement

Polarization

Disgreement

I’m sorry, I wish I could agree.  I do not see the voice of well-ordered reason in any of these proposed solutions.
A few months ago, we were polarized nationally over racism and monument destruction.  Now our attention has been directed at school shootings and gun control: we are polarized more than ever.  What will be the next “big thing” that has us at each other’s throats?  Neighbor warring against neighbor: to what purpose?  Are we even listening to ourselves talk?
Ostensibly, George Soros funded that whole march thingy.  I don’t know that this is true.  Yet, for Soros it would only be the cost of doing business: he would gladly drop a million or two to make ten or twenty million.  Here is the real difference between him and us... we think ourselves wise and shrewd to drop a buck or two to make two or four cents.  We are happy to get a 2% return.  Soros is unhappy with less than a 1,000% return.  Soros multiplies money, while we divide it.  So why would Soros be playing “Pied Piper of Hamelin”, leading our children astray?  What’s in it for him, or any other big player for that matter?
Is the wise and prudent solution to send our kids back to school so they can master algebra 1 and become inventive creators of more weapons of mass destruction?  What does our present academia really serve?  Obviously, it does not serve peace and safety, public welfare, or job creation for the poor.
We have failed in our own quest for wisdom: we don’t have a clue.  We have failed to inculcate wisdom in the hearts of our children.  Now we are to respect these unwise children, because their unwise solutions are better than our own unwise solutions?  So, let’s tear down the Second Amendment?  To what end?  So, we, on the other hand, should listen to the perpetually whiny NRA?  Why?
I hear everything in this mix except honor father and mother; except love God and neighbor.  It’s Lent.  It’s Holy Week.  Easter is upon us, and we have spent our time arguing and fighting.  Why?

All of these issues are trivial smokescreens, designed to distract us from what is really important.  We have become a more and more Godless, selfish nation every year.  Old traditions are being trashed by the thousands.  We have tons of laws that nobody acts upon: and nobody wants to know why.  Our country is enslaved to debt and usury: nobody seems to care enough to do anything about it.  We are facing rapid energy depletion: nobody wants to own up to it.  We abuse the poor and needy as a habit: so what?  Our freedoms are being eroded by the handful: everybody knows it!  Do nothing, is our motto.

I see more polarization.  I don’t see much reasoned wisdom. I see a lot of fighting among ourselves.  I don’t see seasoned leaders, who are stepping up to lead us through this tangled mess.  I see good leaders, marginalized by the wicked.  I see grand larceny in the highest offices of the land.  I don’t see a lot of crying out to God for help.  I don’t see a general willingness to obey God either....