Change the political system? It’s possible, but it isn’t easy because a human’s attention is an unapologetic discriminator. Have you ever seen a light fixture covered with cobwebs and dust and only realized it was dirty when you saw it? I’m not a fan of assuming things, but I’ll assume you have.
We get so used to ignoring details as humans that some things never change when they should.
Here are some observations about societal fixtures that are imbalanced in the United States.
Fixed Education
Many U.S. citizens believe that education must fit a specific mold to be effective. The common core standards are a notable example of this philosophical stance. We force our children down one path then see how it plays out. It hasn’t played out well, and teachers, parents, and especially students are the losers. The only winners are the Politicians that force states to comply with the system.
Why aren’t we providing choice and modern solutions across the nation? Some progressive schools do the following, but it’s more of an exception than a norm.
Home School Kits
Let’s take tax-funded curriculums and enable parents to home school if that is their choice.
Distance Education
Let’s provide distance education for everyone at a federal level. Kids, and even parents, could attend courses online and level up their core skills any day of the week.
Continuous Development
Many companies with modern business practices engage in continuous learning and development. Employees would have an opportunity to learn new things and apply those learnings to their job. Why aren’t schools downloading business research to make learning more efficient and impactful?
Fixed Leadership
Term limits will never pass because the current leaders have an incentive to stay in power. Many leaders in The Whitehouse are fixtures that have been there for decades. They have built a system that benefits those in power more than the average citizens. Many of them think they are the boss when they are the servant by law. Leaders must follow the law or risk delegitimizing existing systems.
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men…”
— John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
John was a Confederate, I don’t sympathize with confederates, but this is a true statement. Attacks on U.S. citizens of late demonstrates that the Federal government has too much power. We have lost the plot on all sides, but we can strive for balance.
There has been a trend in corporations, per advice from business consulting firms, to imbue a sense of leadership in all employees. From where I’m sitting, that is a step in the right direction. If we elevate all citizens and give them the trust, tools, and societal permission to think for themselves, we can pull ourselves out of this mess.
That’s not enough; we can elevate ourselves to be leaders ourselves as a collective. We would no longer require figureheads or even talking heads to tell us what to do if we would embrace leading ourselves.
Imagine what we could do if we lead ourselves.
- Use open software systems to manage the allocation of shared resources based on facts.
- Eliminate lobbyists by taking responsibility for the problems we create for ourselves.
- Institute true representatives that do not speak for us but instead speak with us.
I know these ideas are radical, given the state of our society. Starting the United States was a revolutionary idea; it’s time to go back to our roots. We can change the political systems that aren’t working for us.
Fixed Income
Social Security funds are a constant point of contention in political discourse. Studies have concluded that U.S. citizens overwhelmingly support social security and is currently financially stable. It’s not possible to pay more into social security, for whatever reason. Most people don’t save money for retirement unless forced to do so. People that don’t save money for retirement become a burden on society hence Social Security. It’s a fixed and inflexible law that doesn’t change because it’s lives in a complicated political nexus of fiscal responsibility and social wellness.
Running Out
Social security funds continue to deplete because nobody imagined that older adults would outnumber young adults paying into social security. That should have been a core consideration and should be a consideration now.
Why not take the problem away from the Government and mandate U.S. citizens to pay into a collection of approved retirement funds. The Government would not be able to touch the funds, and we could stop talking about it and move on from debating this subject. Politicians could act now and pass laws that enable citizens to transfer their funds to an account of their choosing.
Conclusion
There is a multitude of societal fixtures in our society that are collecting dust and cobwebs. We cannot change them all, especially given the gridlock in Washington, but we can make changes that will stop the bleeding. We can vote for candidates that recognize the importance of removing Government from the management of issues and defines the policy.
- Republicans are correct; big Government is a problem.
- Democrats are correct; the social wellness of society needs continual improvement.
We can support compromises that help everyone and find balance if we seek it. It’s within our power to change the imbalanced political systems
This article is a living document. Fixed views are not my style, and they never will be. As I learn new things, my opinions change based on facts.
Hopefully, we can calm ourselves and realize that reality is not a fixed construct, and neither are we.