Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to Nougat Nation

Utopian dreams
Fox — (archived)

Funny you should mention that... The thought crossed my mind, while reading this overall thread, that all Utopias are fantasy. Human nature guarantees it. Such was the root philosophical difference between Jefferson (the utopian) and Adams (the cynic)... yet, a compromise between their oppositional efforts created the Constitution (and they eventually repaired their personal friendship, once both were out of office).

The corollary, which I believe to be equally valid, is that all dystopias are also fantasy -- once again, because human nature guarantees it. Granted, we mainly have fiction upon which to draw -- but, of the literary dystopias I can think of (they're a favorite genre), only Orwell's is unremittingly hopeless. In all of the others, altruism rises to mitigate, if not overthrow, the oppression of extremism.

Now, to this hypothetical organization for growing the Center... maybe we should call it the Coalition of the Sensible?

... shining a light on the mechanisms of politics and power and rhetoric, and giving people the intellectual tools to maintain their own independence.

Sounds a lot like good old-fashioned Civics class to me. I know I'm not the only one struck with the irony that newly-naturalized immigrant citizens are much better educated on the topic than the average native... I'd be willing to bet that their voter turnout is a lot higher than the national average, too.

Anyway, to that mission I would add another task: highlighting "centrist heroes" already in office, regardless of party, as role models and as potential candidates for still-higher office.

I imagine some (both?) of my readers are tired of my frequent invocation of the shade of John Adams (feel free to roll your eyes, folks...). Nevertheless, I think there's relevance here, on two points. First, he abhorred the idea of political parties -- either ignoring or denying that division of opinion over issues is as natural as any other human behavior -- yet was powerless to stop one from being built around him (the Federalists), and powerless, even as its figurehead, to stop it from going extreme in the hands of Hamilton. Second, he advocated for a fully educated electorate, not merely capable but duty-bound to exercise their franchise... much as we are wishing now.

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