American society is largely built upon the institutions of free enterprise and democracy. Our institutions require a high level of integrity throughout society. Without integrity, our economy and our government do not function properly and are doomed to failure. I believe declining integrity in American society is the root cause of our economic and political failures of the last fifteen years.
--------
Consider a foot-race. Whether it is a group of schoolboys running around the school building, or the Boston Marathon, we have clear expectations about how participants are to behave. If someone wins by hiding behind a tree, or riding part of the course on a bus, it is not a race. It is a sham.
Sadly, there is a long history of cheating in races. In the first modern Olympics, in 1896, a Greek runner covered part of the course in a carriage and was disqualified. In the 1904 Olympics, Fredrick Lorz rode 10 miles of the marathon in a car to win the race; only be to disqualified at the medal ceremony. Rosie Ruiz apparently won the Boston marathon in 1980 by riding the subway. In the 2011 UK Keilder marathon, Rob Sloan claimed third place after riding a bus through part of the route.
What's wrong with these wins? Of course, it's a ridiculous question. In a race, participants and observers agree that certain rules apply. You have to actually run the race, on foot, over the entire course. In a proper race, there is agreement among the participants to compete fairly. If there is no commitment to fair play, there is no race.
Integrity in Politics
American government is a democracy. Democracy likewise depends upon a common commitment to its principles; to fairness, and to the idea that the majority should rule.
Interesting things happen when people make collective decisions. Collectively, we are usually (but not always) smarter than we are as individuals. A good example of collective wisdom is the television game "One Versus One Hundred". On any given question, the majority opinion by the crowd is almost certain to be the right response. In a democracy, we accept and understand that principle.
Another simple demonstration is in the process of estimation. Francis Galton conducted an experiment in 1907, in which he asked a crowd of people at a fair to guess the weight of a dressed bull. Surprisingly, although the individual estimates may vary widely, the average of the estimates is invariably close to the actual value. Invariably, the collective estimate approximates the real number. Interestingly, some individual estimates may vary wildly (by several orders of magnitude) from the actual number, but if the "wild" estimates are excluded from the average, the process is less accurate. For the process to work, ALL of the guesses must be weighted equally. All of the voices must be heard.
There are currently a number of Republican initiatives to limit voting in various states, under the pretext of combating "voter fraud". It is transparent that the intent of the initiatives is to restrict the vote of minorities, of students, and of the poor, who might be inclined to vote for the Democratic party.
For details, see the post "The War on Democracy".
http://debatablypolitical.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-war-on-democracy.html
Further, anyone with an e-mail account and a conservative friend must have seen an astonishing number of false and misleading communications about President Obama. False e-mails began circulating during the Bush presidency, and have steadily grown in volume and in audacity throughout Obama's first term. I find this propaganda particularly wicked when fabricated statements are attributed to respected and well-known public figures, such as Lee Iaccoca and David Kaiser. The people who circulate these lies are not interested in the process of public discourse, only in winning the race.
The key principle of democracy is a consensus that governing power is given to the winner. The parties, the candidates, and the society agree that the winner will take office, and govern with all the authority and respect of that office.
In third-world countries where democracy is not well established, an election is often simply a prelude to violence. There is no commitment to abide by the results, and the losing side begins fighting as soon as the ballots are counted.
In the United States, commitment to democracy has visibly declined, and the situation approaches that of the third world. In the four years of the Obama presidency, and to a lesser degree in the Clinton presidency, the Republican opposition has denied the legitimacy of the president. The opposition has stone-walled legislation, libeled and slandered the president, and would damage the country rather than allow success by the Obama presidency. This strategy was openly advocated by Republican congressional leaders, pundits, and radio personalities.
When I look at all of the actions of both parties, it is actions on the Republican side which I find most reprehensible. Republicans are interested in winning the race by jumping on a bus.
It is clear to me that today's Republican party simply does not believe in democracy.
--------
Consider a foot-race. Whether it is a group of schoolboys running around the school building, or the Boston Marathon, we have clear expectations about how participants are to behave. If someone wins by hiding behind a tree, or riding part of the course on a bus, it is not a race. It is a sham.
Sadly, there is a long history of cheating in races. In the first modern Olympics, in 1896, a Greek runner covered part of the course in a carriage and was disqualified. In the 1904 Olympics, Fredrick Lorz rode 10 miles of the marathon in a car to win the race; only be to disqualified at the medal ceremony. Rosie Ruiz apparently won the Boston marathon in 1980 by riding the subway. In the 2011 UK Keilder marathon, Rob Sloan claimed third place after riding a bus through part of the route.
What's wrong with these wins? Of course, it's a ridiculous question. In a race, participants and observers agree that certain rules apply. You have to actually run the race, on foot, over the entire course. In a proper race, there is agreement among the participants to compete fairly. If there is no commitment to fair play, there is no race.
Integrity in Politics
American government is a democracy. Democracy likewise depends upon a common commitment to its principles; to fairness, and to the idea that the majority should rule.
Interesting things happen when people make collective decisions. Collectively, we are usually (but not always) smarter than we are as individuals. A good example of collective wisdom is the television game "One Versus One Hundred". On any given question, the majority opinion by the crowd is almost certain to be the right response. In a democracy, we accept and understand that principle.
Another simple demonstration is in the process of estimation. Francis Galton conducted an experiment in 1907, in which he asked a crowd of people at a fair to guess the weight of a dressed bull. Surprisingly, although the individual estimates may vary widely, the average of the estimates is invariably close to the actual value. Invariably, the collective estimate approximates the real number. Interestingly, some individual estimates may vary wildly (by several orders of magnitude) from the actual number, but if the "wild" estimates are excluded from the average, the process is less accurate. For the process to work, ALL of the guesses must be weighted equally. All of the voices must be heard.
There are currently a number of Republican initiatives to limit voting in various states, under the pretext of combating "voter fraud". It is transparent that the intent of the initiatives is to restrict the vote of minorities, of students, and of the poor, who might be inclined to vote for the Democratic party.
For details, see the post "The War on Democracy".
http://debatablypolitical.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-war-on-democracy.html
Further, anyone with an e-mail account and a conservative friend must have seen an astonishing number of false and misleading communications about President Obama. False e-mails began circulating during the Bush presidency, and have steadily grown in volume and in audacity throughout Obama's first term. I find this propaganda particularly wicked when fabricated statements are attributed to respected and well-known public figures, such as Lee Iaccoca and David Kaiser. The people who circulate these lies are not interested in the process of public discourse, only in winning the race.
The key principle of democracy is a consensus that governing power is given to the winner. The parties, the candidates, and the society agree that the winner will take office, and govern with all the authority and respect of that office.
In third-world countries where democracy is not well established, an election is often simply a prelude to violence. There is no commitment to abide by the results, and the losing side begins fighting as soon as the ballots are counted.
In the United States, commitment to democracy has visibly declined, and the situation approaches that of the third world. In the four years of the Obama presidency, and to a lesser degree in the Clinton presidency, the Republican opposition has denied the legitimacy of the president. The opposition has stone-walled legislation, libeled and slandered the president, and would damage the country rather than allow success by the Obama presidency. This strategy was openly advocated by Republican congressional leaders, pundits, and radio personalities.
When I look at all of the actions of both parties, it is actions on the Republican side which I find most reprehensible. Republicans are interested in winning the race by jumping on a bus.
It is clear to me that today's Republican party simply does not believe in democracy.
