Politically Naive

A      L      O      H      A   !

" If you see the world
 in black and white,
 you're missing important
 grey matter. "


Jack Fyock

" Eventually you realize
 that not all opposing viewpoints
 come from people
 who oppose you. "


Robert Brault

" What we see 

depends

 mainly on what 

we look for. "

John Lubbock

" The reverse side

 also has 

a reverse side. "

Japanese Proverb

" Without the aid of
 prejudice and custom,
 I should not be able 
to find my way
 across the room.  "


William Hazlitt

  > < } } ( ° >

Silly  SILLY me !

I made the same mistake

that economists always made

till now.

It was always assumed

that we make reasoned

decisions,

and then act

in our own 

best interests.

Now we know that decisions

are made/taken

for all sorts of

non-reasoning,

subconscious

factors.

I always assumed

that political conversation

was about discovering

the best ideas

through reasoning

competition.

I really have no excuse.

With a degree in psychology

and 2/3 of a lifetime

 on this planet

I should have

known better.

As Humans,

politics is all about

WHO we feel

comfortable with.

Our Tribe.

That's it!

Either you "get"

why my side is right,

or you are 

"wrong"

Worse!

You are one of 

THEM,

the idiots causing

ALL the problems.

If only

THEY

would listen to

US!

We listen to sources

that reinforce

the view we hold.

Our friends all agree!

We accuse other sources

of bias.

Silly me!

I SEEK out

opinions different from 

my own.

Please explain to me

why I am  wrong.

Explaining, discussing

is NOT:

Being loud,

angry,

dismissive,

and belittling of my 

reasoned opinions;

refusing to listen

to WHY I think

like I do-
sloganeering-

That only makes me lose

respect for you

as a reasonable adult.

When I try to befriend

(like on FaceBook)

those with different politics,

they usually end up

un-friending me.

"You're trying to turn me!"

One person accused.

So Up with OUR SIDE

and down

with the other.

Meanwhile,

under the rhetoric,

a very small circle

is stealing the rest of us 

blind.

Have you noticed?

As long as we speechify

about Values,

and Paying our Way,

we ignore the unrelenting

strategic

erosion

of the Public Realm

Morally,

 in Fair Regulation,

Financially,

Physically.

It's been going on

for decades.

So far,

'They've' done a good,

well-financed

job of confusing

many of us.

Their specialty:

turning us

against those who 

really want to,

and know how to,

 help restore sanity.

Yeah. Our 'Socialist'

President.

(He's black,

from Chicago,

AND a 

Democrat

you know!)

Up from modest roots,

on to the best university,

effective in his community

elected by his neighbors.
How DARE HE?

Folks who were BORN

with Wealthy
Connected/Elected

Daddies

are calling

Barak

ELITE!


And who should we listen to?
Sarah
who couldn't stick 
at a college
or a Gov's office,
or finish
a coherent sentence?
Now THERE's
a LEADER!

Ya just gotta

L A U G H

So stay angry

idiots.

(Of course I mean

THEM,

not

US!)

Meanwhile

political discourse 

is chest-beating

tub-thumping

"We're # 1"

Noise.

Hey.

What's REALLY

going on?

Those clever, 

well-financed interests

are already developing

today's Fox, er FOG

of confusion.

And now

(thanks Supreme Court)

Shadowy Billionaires

control 90%

of "Political Speech"

through airtime,

house pundits,

publishing,

radio.

Corporations

are persons.

You & me?

We're not persons

LIKE THAT! 

I don't hate

the haters-

and their

confused, misdirected

 minions-

I actually really 

feel bad for them,
so disconnected,
fearful.


They're missing the chance 
to be a part
of the progress
of humanity.
What will our great
grandchildren
think
from the perspective
of tomorrow?

Because my God

is not all about

who I'm supposed to

hate.


And is bigger
than anything
scary out there.

We'll laugh about all this 

over drinks

in Heaven;

Know what I'm sayin?

Thanks for listening

to my rant.

<>

Desiderata

" Go placidly amidst the noise and haste,

 and remember what peace

 there may be in silence.

 As far as possible 

without surrender 

be on good terms with all persons.

 Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

 and listen to others,

 even the dull and the ignorant;

 they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

 they are vexations to the spirit. "

 Max Ehrmann 

1927 

Desiderata means 

"desired things"

in Latin.

Thank You Wikipedia

Max is one of

US  :-)

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        fondly, cloudia