Volume 5, Issue 26
We live and operate in dysfunctional bubbles of discord.
The “In Conflict” Bubble
Members of this bubble include progressives, conservatives, and millennials. Progressives believe that government can print and borrow money forever, and that budget deficits and debt are not primary considerations. Expansion of government services is their mantra, regardless of consequences to the private sector. Conservatives believe that some prudence must be exerted in reference to ongoing spending. Unending government deficits and debt will destroy the system, and therefore render critical services unsustainable. Yet conservatives never, ever explain this point of reference.
Recently on ABC News, a well-respected national commentator, in referencing the Republican Senate health care legislation, stated, “It’s all about $1 trillion in tax cuts versus $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. Which better serves the country?” The question is much more complicated than this. Health care costs are out of control and cannot be sustained. Increasing taxes will not solve a flawed government program. Tax cuts, in theory, generate capital investment and therein create good paying jobs. More people working for a living wage means fewer people dependent on Medicaid. One can argue about the benchmark formulas. That is a discussion worthy of having. But in today’s forum of ideas, both progressives and conservatives talk over each other, leaving the average American citizen to figure out for themselves what is the basic foundation of truth.
Millennials, on the other hand, have been abandoned by their elders as to the foundational axioms of American history, macroeconomics, federalism & states’ rights, and constitutional principles. Without consistent engagement in dialogue among and between the generations on these points of foundational political philosophy, Millennials act on the instincts of the present. They do so without reference to the past or projections for the future. Living in the moment is adequate for justification to follow Senator Bernie Sanders when he says everything should be free.
The “Isolation” Bubble
The members of this bubble include Wall Street, big business, and universities. Each of these entities lives in their own world without respect, regard or consideration for anyone outside their bubble. They have control of their own environment. Each is a beneficiary of big government to some extent. Yet they fail to acknowledge this. They expect government privileges as entitlements. ‘Do whatever you want with health care, just leave me alone to make huge fees without creating value, realize profits based partially on government subsidies or pontificate from an ivory tower.’
The “In Denial” Bubble
Members of this bubble include the entertainment industry, news media, and the Establishment. These members are cohorts in crime in that they believe that if the system is broken, the fix is more of the same. The Establishment is in charge of the system and in denial that they are the primary beneficiary of business as usual. Hollywood elites, for whatever reason, believe that because they are good actors, they are great philosophers. They are in denial that their opinions are no more valuable than anyone else’s. The news media is absolutely arrogant in its editorial comments about current events. They have a right to their opinions and perhaps even their bias. But they are in denial that the instincts of the average American citizen, in his or her rejection of the media’s exclamations, are as balanced, rational, and enlightened for solutions as are those of the national intelligentsia.
The “In Pursuit of Purpose” Bubble
The members of this bubble include Christians, Constitutionalists, and free enterprisers. Each member of this group believes in the pursuit of a calling that is independent of government. Their definition of government’s role is to facilitate freedom. It is not so much that they live in a bubble as it is that they are out of sync with other bubbles. Their creed is that government is subservient to their primary purposes.
In our country today, these bubbles are operating independently of each other. What I mean by this is that members have little concept or consideration for the framework and viewpoint of those in the opposing bubbles. In the bubble of conflict, the members operate against each other. The members of the other bubbles have similar self-interests and purposes. All are indifferent to viewpoints outside their bubble. When these bubbles cross paths, there is a real threat that the membrane of one bubble or the other will burst, leaving those members in the burst bubble to face their worst nightmare….reality.
What is reality?
Reality is the recognition that the United States of America is unique in the proposition that all men are created equal, and that we were endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Inclusive in this recognition is the fact that no one holds the franchise on all that is righteous. All Americans possess common cords in the dignity of individual purpose in that birth is not destiny, but equal opportunity. All members of each bubble can claim this unalienable right. All references to political ideology and purpose should be advanced as an extension of this acknowledgement. Reality must be embraced in concept and consideration for the maintenance of rights for all members of society.
And as to the definition of a right, health care is not a right. It may be a critical need. It in fact may be the most important government priority, but it is not a right. A right is God-given and does not require anything from government to direct it, support it, or define it. Further, a right never requires someone else to pay for it. A right is freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to assembly, right to bear arms, and right to a fair and impartial trial by jury. Unalienable rights exist outside of government. Government is there to protect them. Government is not there to create them. Yes, a trial requires government procedure. But government is there to protect an unalienable right. No right requires government service, only process.
Food, shelter and clothing are as critical to survival as health care. But they are needs supplied by individuals acting in concert for each other and the greater good.
The dominant issues of today are health care legislation, the Russian investigation, and the foreign travel ban. Each of these issues is driven from a central matrix of one of the above described bubbles. What is absent in the debate about solutions is the prioritization of real issues. Real issues of relevancy to individuals include the budget deficits, the national debt, early childhood care, education, national security, and the infrastructure. Underlying the premise for this prioritization is the discussion about national values to which we should all be committed.
Recently on America’s Got Talent, a group of South Korean youths performed a spectacular dance routine. They addressed the judges by stating this may be the last time they compete together. Later, judge Simon Cowell asked why that was so. The answer was that they are all required to serve in the South Korean military to defend their country. The spokesman went on to say how proud they were to do so, and how much they looked forward to serving.
I suspect they all understand the national values to which they are committed.
Without looking beyond our own agendas with an understanding of the foundational principles on which our country was established, society will continue, by living in bubbles, to be divided. We then will be unfulfilled in our dysfunctional bubbles of discord. Without commitment to a code of national values, we not only fail our country, we fail each other, even each other in our respective bubbles.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?