07/18/24: [Warning] Politics
Looking at the news, it has been hard not to feel depressed about the future. It feels to me like politics is broken and it’s going to be very hard to fix that. Additionally, we’ve got two previous generations of politicians who just don’t want to let go of power.
These things might be related.
Not too long ago I came across the phrase “The goal of a system is what it produces.” It has taken me some time to fully come to grips with that phrase because it has absolutely nothing to say about intent. It’s not saying that whoever set the system up intentionally planned for it to work the way it does (though it’s quite possible that they did); it’s saying that we have to look at systems in terms of what they produce. What they produce is the goal and, hey, maybe we won’t like what they produce and, if that is the case, we need to fix them.
I could certainly go into detail about all the things that we need fix because I don’t agree with how they work. And looking at such a list, it’s possible that we wouldn’t agree either that they they need to be fixed or how to do so. (If you really want me to list them, you know where to send the email.)
Ultimately, we are, as a (community/town/county/state/country/world) an interconnected set of biological systems. We are part of the natural world, even if we set ourselves apart from it, and we are the only part of it that can (theoretically) effectively communicate amongst its members at global scale.
So, for the sake of having future generations who don’t have to live in an increasingly authoritarian and chaotic world, we need to figure out how to look at our systems with clear eyes and communicate how they need to change for the better.
And, yes, I know I’m really not telling you anything new or bringing you any solutions. I’m literally yelling at clouds because you know this stuff already. But, damn, is it hard to get out in the world and try to engage with people who hate you because they think tolerance, kindness, and equity make you weak and stupid. And, unfortunately, I think that’s what I have to do (I can’t speak for anyone else).