Social Distraction, Or Why The Political Situation Is What It Is.

The United States has been good at finding distractions for a long time now. The appeal of spectator sports is a harmless example of this. On the other hand, the national obsession with the trivialities of what would be called in the slang of my generation "first world problems" is less harmless. One of the biggest distractions of all though combines spectator sports with first world problems to create the current political scene, the impact of which ranges from inducing insanity and breaks from logic and reality, to outright abuses of power and derelictions of duties to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It is because of the harm that is caused and the greater harm that is possible that the political scene, and what to do with it will be primary topics of discussion.

In the public discussion of politics, personal ideology has often times taken the place of reason. This is harder to reverse than it may at first seem. The reason any system exists as it does is because it is reaching, or has reached an internal equilibrium, which is to say things are the way they are because it works. Political campaign positions have become more extreme because it provides a better contrast against the opposition and thus captures more prospective voters. Attack adds get run during campaign seasons because they are actually effective, and political actors tend towards more strict ideologies rather than allowing compromise because it causes them to stand out in the increasing noise of modern media.

However, as much as it is my objective to describe things as they are, there would be little point in writing if I did not also ask what could and should be. The purpose of all political action should be to advance the common good, as defined by promoting order rather than chaos and especially defending those who cannot adequately defend themselves. These may be stated intentions of members from all points along the political spectrum. That said, intentions, however good mean nothing in the face of increasing and consistent negative outcomes. For example, the ongoing debate and attempts to restrict firearms comes from a high intention of protecting those who cannot protect themselves, an aim most in keeping with my stated objectives. The actual implantation of such legislation though, does not produce outcomes in keeping with the intentions because the policy does not take reality into account. Criminals, by definition, do not observe the law and should not be expected to observe laws that would restrict their access to weapons for the commission of further crimes. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the idea that abortion should be restricted at all costs because it is very easily seen as the killing of those who are ultimately unable to defend themselves, a view that is actually quite common and accepted in many other developed countries. In practice though, the anti abortion movements often times focuses on the final act rather than recognizing the lack of opportunity, poverty, and other assorted negative situations that lead up to it, and taking action on those with the second and third order effects being abortions becoming increasingly less common. The outcome for them then is that they fight a losing battle and make themselves increasingly a target for being accused of the ultimate modern crime of insensitivity.

Both of these untenable positions result from substituting good intentions for the actual methods, compromises and sacrifices that lead to good outcomes. The same is true of nearly all other major political and cultural issues we now face. It is thus that the  most harmful of all distractions we face are good intentions with no way for realization, and they are so because they lead to ignoring the reality of the situation, taking untenable and oppositional positions thus causing tremendous noise and chaos, and all the while masquerading as good. As a wise man once said, "you don't make arch demons out of lizards, you make them out of arch angels."

The risks associated with actually turning good intentions into positive outcomes may and should induce a certain level of fear. However, acquiescing to fear in the face of sound and thought out methods, however common, will only result in the same and worse than what we now face. Things find internal equilibrium, but it is not always as it should be.