Politics

Politics, as they are pursued in the United States, are a refined distillation of war. They are a counterproductive pursuit. They stand in the way of the business of being intelligently human, especially when they are driven by religion and money.

Mr. Romney's recent exposure as an elitist bubble-boy illustrates the lack of real progress in political evolution from bullying feudal aristocracy to American republicanism. The haves still rule the have-nots. Mr. Romney's opinion that those who utilize pubic entitlements, based in legislation, are freeloaders is an aristocratic view. It is based in the assumption that he and other aristocrats, less dependent on public entitlements due to hereditary benefits, simple good luck and an army of tax lawyers, are somehow endowed with godly wisdom. 

I have lived with chronic disease for decades. I do not come from a wealthy background. For many years, I lived one paycheck away from financial insolvency. I was a nurse, doing hard labor for society on nights and weekends. During much of my career, the money I was paid was barely enough to live independently and moderately in an expensive city. Subsequent to becoming too ill to work full time, I have used public entitlements, into which I paid for many years as a taxpayer. I am not a freeloader, Mr. Romney.

Politics are an amusing game for those with the financial security to find them so. The rest of us find politics disturbing and enraging. I have a vision of a peaceful and prosperous world for everyone. Politics are not based on this vision. Politics are based in conflict, competition and winning. As long as government is political in the current manner, it will not meet the needs of all the people. The Libertarian alternative is even more antisocial. The Soviet alternative was an abysmal failure. The Chinese Communist alternative falls far short of a universally fair and just society. 

Universal peace and joy for an overpopulated human species may well be impossible. This is discouraging for me as a humanist. I do not think politics will be the path to universal peace and joy. I do believe that individuals can achieve peace and joy in their lives. The balance between a practice which pursues individual peace and joy and the path of being an engaged and responsible citizen of society has been a great challenge throughout the ages. As a humanist, I strive for some balance between these two paths. But my humanist practice takes priority over complying with the path of the society as a whole, when it is driven by the dominating privileged.