Welcome to C.P.R.
Well, here it is. Post number one in my new blog. I had resisted using these as a forum for a long time now, but it seems that this is the only place that I can find where I can effectively communicate with people across the nation.
My "organization", if you will, is the Coalition for Political Realism, or C.P.R. I even came up with a catchy little slogan.
"A new breath of life for American politics."
Let me know if you like it.
I suppose I should tell you all a bit about political realism, at least as I see it. To put it simply, no one is right one hundred percent of the time. So then, why is it we have two parties that hold to their dogmas like it's their life-support systems? Because politicians these days believe that compromise is a sign of weakness these days. This has led to more extremists, and many fewer moderates.
Don't misunderstand me here. I don't favor one political party over another. As far as I can see, both of them have some very good ideas, which, if carefully implemented in a way that supported both parties views, could do a lot of good in this country. Sometimes the solutions isn't a simple as (A) or (B), but more often a blend of the two.
An example. Education. Democrats believe that the key to improving education is to provide more money for schools to invest in extra-curricular activities and the like, such as music programs, sports, etc. Republicans, however, are more of the opinion that in order to improve education we need to offer rewards and incentives for teachers who excel at their job, thereby encouraging them to try harder. Both of those ideas make sense to me, and I see no reason for either of them to be mutually exclusive. More money for bigger school budgets, which means more programs and larger salaries for teachers, encouraging more people to pursue a career in education. At the same time, offer incentives for teachers who go above and beyond to encourage learning. Bonuses and the like.
Alternately, the solution might not be a blend of the two, but more of a compromise. I mean, obviously there's no way to blend the ideals on the pro-life/pro-choice debate. Either you believe one way, or the other. But why not something along the lines of allowing women the choice, but to discourage it, or more appropriately, encouraging women to choose life. And why mustn't we allow the man a choice in the matter? It is partly his child as well.
Obviously that's a touchy subject, and not one I'm prepared to address at this point. So, if you haven't closed the browser window yet, please keep reading.
Political realism is about finding realistic, working solutions to problems that support all Americans. Not just the poor, or the rich. Not just the minorities, or the majority. Not just the left, or the right. Political realism is about making the system work for everyone, equally and fairly, or as equally and fairly as possible. There will always be the disenfranchised, those who are trod upon, and no amount of reform will stop that. That is because there will always be people who fundamentally disagree with the government's goals and actions.
But my intent is to rally people across the nation, to increase political awareness and activity, and to encourage more moderate politicians to run for offices and work towards the common good.
Despite what the Democrats believe, people can survive without the government. Those people are Republicans. And despite what Republicans believe, people can use the support of a stable government. Those people are Democrats. The government should be like parents to the nation; loving and supportive, ready to lend a hand when we really need it, but still strongly encouraging that we learn to support ourselves. If that isn't a blending of political ideologies, I don't know what is.
But I'll step off my soapbox for now and let that distill in your brain for bit. As always, let me know what you think. I can only give you my word that I will very lightly moderate this blog. My intent is to encourage the exchange of political views, and to find a way to incorporate them all for the common good. The only posts I'll remove are ones that are rude, obscene, defamatory, or the like. I really, truly value your opinion.
My "organization", if you will, is the Coalition for Political Realism, or C.P.R. I even came up with a catchy little slogan.
"A new breath of life for American politics."
Let me know if you like it.
I suppose I should tell you all a bit about political realism, at least as I see it. To put it simply, no one is right one hundred percent of the time. So then, why is it we have two parties that hold to their dogmas like it's their life-support systems? Because politicians these days believe that compromise is a sign of weakness these days. This has led to more extremists, and many fewer moderates.
Don't misunderstand me here. I don't favor one political party over another. As far as I can see, both of them have some very good ideas, which, if carefully implemented in a way that supported both parties views, could do a lot of good in this country. Sometimes the solutions isn't a simple as (A) or (B), but more often a blend of the two.
An example. Education. Democrats believe that the key to improving education is to provide more money for schools to invest in extra-curricular activities and the like, such as music programs, sports, etc. Republicans, however, are more of the opinion that in order to improve education we need to offer rewards and incentives for teachers who excel at their job, thereby encouraging them to try harder. Both of those ideas make sense to me, and I see no reason for either of them to be mutually exclusive. More money for bigger school budgets, which means more programs and larger salaries for teachers, encouraging more people to pursue a career in education. At the same time, offer incentives for teachers who go above and beyond to encourage learning. Bonuses and the like.
Alternately, the solution might not be a blend of the two, but more of a compromise. I mean, obviously there's no way to blend the ideals on the pro-life/pro-choice debate. Either you believe one way, or the other. But why not something along the lines of allowing women the choice, but to discourage it, or more appropriately, encouraging women to choose life. And why mustn't we allow the man a choice in the matter? It is partly his child as well.
Obviously that's a touchy subject, and not one I'm prepared to address at this point. So, if you haven't closed the browser window yet, please keep reading.
Political realism is about finding realistic, working solutions to problems that support all Americans. Not just the poor, or the rich. Not just the minorities, or the majority. Not just the left, or the right. Political realism is about making the system work for everyone, equally and fairly, or as equally and fairly as possible. There will always be the disenfranchised, those who are trod upon, and no amount of reform will stop that. That is because there will always be people who fundamentally disagree with the government's goals and actions.
But my intent is to rally people across the nation, to increase political awareness and activity, and to encourage more moderate politicians to run for offices and work towards the common good.
Despite what the Democrats believe, people can survive without the government. Those people are Republicans. And despite what Republicans believe, people can use the support of a stable government. Those people are Democrats. The government should be like parents to the nation; loving and supportive, ready to lend a hand when we really need it, but still strongly encouraging that we learn to support ourselves. If that isn't a blending of political ideologies, I don't know what is.
But I'll step off my soapbox for now and let that distill in your brain for bit. As always, let me know what you think. I can only give you my word that I will very lightly moderate this blog. My intent is to encourage the exchange of political views, and to find a way to incorporate them all for the common good. The only posts I'll remove are ones that are rude, obscene, defamatory, or the like. I really, truly value your opinion.
posted by The Political Realist at 9:42 PM
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