Difference between revisions of "Civicwiki:The liberation of us"
m |
m |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
CivicWiki was created as a reaction to our deepening political division. The presidential election of 2016 couldn’t provide better motivation, though the stage seems set for future elections to outdo it. CW’s desire was to surface fundamental principles on which most of us can agree and, on that, build a consensus of how government should work. That seems a tall an order, but perhaps we can build a civil discourse. For that we need to understand our own beliefs and those that differ. From civil discourse will come ever better understanding and our political divisions will become more principled, less tribal, and therefore smaller. Tribalism does not require understanding, it discourages it; it is comfortable in that way because we don’t have to think; indeed, we are often asked to leave the thinking to others. Tribal members do not have to understand their beliefs; they only have to conform to them to be good members. Nor do they have to understand those of other tribes; they only have to oppose them. | CivicWiki was created as a reaction to our deepening political division. The presidential election of 2016 couldn’t provide better motivation, though the stage seems set for future elections to outdo it. CW’s desire was to surface fundamental principles on which most of us can agree and, on that, build a consensus of how government should work. That seems a tall an order, but perhaps we can build a civil discourse. For that we need to understand our own beliefs and those that differ. From civil discourse will come ever better understanding and our political divisions will become more principled, less tribal, and therefore smaller. Tribalism does not require understanding, it discourages it; it is comfortable in that way because we don’t have to think; indeed, we are often asked to leave the thinking to others. Tribal members do not have to understand their beliefs; they only have to conform to them to be good members. Nor do they have to understand those of other tribes; they only have to oppose them. | ||
| − | CivicWiki’s early content had an historical perspective. The premise was that the United States was, and still is, the most dynamic and successful society on the planet; that it became so because of the principles and institutions on which its government was formed; and that erosion of those principles and the way we have reconstructed our institutions (the rise of the regulatory state and to a lesser extent the rise of entitlements) is damaging our economy, our society and us as individuals. CW’s aim was to persuade that reclaiming our foundation was the best route into the future for us all. <!-- A problem we faced was how to do that without becoming a history book.--> Our direction was shifted somewhat by the realization that ''CW’s fundamental motive is the liberation of individuals'' . . . not a reconstruction of society, or for that matter, of government – though its influence would be reduced and its priorities changed. | + | CivicWiki’s early content had an historical perspective. The premise was that the United States was, and still is, the most dynamic and successful society on the planet; that it became so because of the principles and institutions on which its government was formed; and that erosion of those principles and the way we have reconstructed our institutions (the rise of the regulatory state and to a lesser extent the rise of entitlements) is damaging our economy, our society and us as individuals. CW’s aim was to persuade that reclaiming our foundation was the best route into the future for us all. <!-- A problem we faced was how to do that without becoming a history book.--> Our direction was shifted somewhat by the realization that ''CW’s fundamental motive is the liberation of individuals'' . . . not a reconstruction of society, or for that matter, of government – though its influence on our daily lives would be reduced and its priorities changed. |
Revision as of 15:27, 3 January 2017
CivicWiki was created as a reaction to our deepening political division. The presidential election of 2016 couldn’t provide better motivation, though the stage seems set for future elections to outdo it. CW’s desire was to surface fundamental principles on which most of us can agree and, on that, build a consensus of how government should work. That seems a tall an order, but perhaps we can build a civil discourse. For that we need to understand our own beliefs and those that differ. From civil discourse will come ever better understanding and our political divisions will become more principled, less tribal, and therefore smaller. Tribalism does not require understanding, it discourages it; it is comfortable in that way because we don’t have to think; indeed, we are often asked to leave the thinking to others. Tribal members do not have to understand their beliefs; they only have to conform to them to be good members. Nor do they have to understand those of other tribes; they only have to oppose them.
CivicWiki’s early content had an historical perspective. The premise was that the United States was, and still is, the most dynamic and successful society on the planet; that it became so because of the principles and institutions on which its government was formed; and that erosion of those principles and the way we have reconstructed our institutions (the rise of the regulatory state and to a lesser extent the rise of entitlements) is damaging our economy, our society and us as individuals. CW’s aim was to persuade that reclaiming our foundation was the best route into the future for us all. Our direction was shifted somewhat by the realization that CW’s fundamental motive is the liberation of individuals . . . not a reconstruction of society, or for that matter, of government – though its influence on our daily lives would be reduced and its priorities changed.
