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writing for godot

Sympathy for the Conservative?

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Written by Ralph Medley   
Sunday, 05 July 2015 11:47
One of the most influential books I read as a young adult was Future Shock by Alvin Toffler.  Toffler defines the term as a specific kind of anxiety producing psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time", which is lagging behind our much slower natural process of evolution, overwhelming our ability to cope.

As a liberal progressive, recalling this premise helps me shed some light as I try to understand the mind of a political conservative, particularly one that resists the findings of climate scientists.  According to Toffler's thesis, it is only natural at some level to resist perceived changes which might shake our foundations of comfort and stability, and long for the way things used to be.  So, we search for that comfort by coveting self-reliance, trusting only our family and embracing conservative dogma, conveniently served up by a pandering media (with economic interests in keeping things the way they are) and social media blogs.  By contrast, liberals can certainly look like dreamers and "do gooders" who want to clog up the wheels of commerce with often complex solutions, that are still in the formulation stages and which may require levels of regulatory oversight.

Uncertainty/anxiety about the future is frightening, we all have our own ways to cope: numbing, ignoring, sarcasm, minimizing, or....actually doing something about that which threatens us.

Climate disruption by humans and what to do about it, is in my mind the most urgent issue we face.  But I like to think we would make much better progress in stemming its impacts if we were all on board here.  Like the alcoholic admitting he has a problem, agreeing we have "an emissions problem", is bound to create a shared sense of responsibility, produce greater energy conservation/carbon reduction, and just put more creative minds at work on solutions...perhaps generating more insight into market based answers.  But like the substance abuser entering a 12 step program, it takes a lot of courage to step up.  What he finds though is that by shedding his self image as the rugged individualist, he opens himself up to the far greater resources and support of the group, where problems are solved much more readily.

In this upcoming political season, I expect more and more what I call binary thinking to be thrust upon us, an "us versus them" mindset.  So, here is a toast to our ability to remain aware and to build bridges across that deep gorge of polarization that has formed between us, on this and other issues that impact us all!
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