"The world is divided into people who think they are right."
Anonymous

Online essay, what better place to point out that a common prejudice has crept through my work. It's my opinion that not much of the world changes by philosophy and a great deal of it changes by self-interest. Politics is no more or less self-interested than the other ambitions of man, but greed is often made to wear the coat and tie of nothing more sinister than self-interest.

The world is not only divided into people who think they're right, most of them are so assured of the fact that they lay their cards down along with the money to back the bet and smile as they rake in the pot. Winning is far too important, particularly in American culture, but the need to win is with us all and if you can't divide the winnings, you don't belong in politics or business or even in the game.

Confrontation is for thugs and bullies. Confrontation does little other than show the strength of power over the strength of negotiation and results most often in a hardening of positions, a draw at best and the dedication to get even at a later time. It's bad politics and seen most often in campaigns, when the rhetoric is hot and is a primary reason what's promised is so seldom delivered. If Harry Truman can bear yet another reference, he is both famous and correct for his observation that you can get a hell of a lot accomplished, if you don't care who gets the credit.

The confrontation that seems natural to Democrats and Republicans stands in the way of good legislation and it may be naive to expect otherwise, but I don't mind being naive. Good ideas and startlingly impressive intellects are not the exclusive property of either side of the congressional aisle. We elect stupid, greedy men and those with wisdom and insight from both parties. During campaigns some pretty good proposals come from the opposition, but I have yet to hear a candidate agree publicly to that or say for the record that it's a damn fine idea. Might be refreshing. More than that, it might prevent an opposition candidate from locking himself in on the other side of an important issue, a side he knows to be weaker but defends beyond comprehension.

I always rather liked the designation the Brits have given to the party out of majority, "the loyal opposition." The loyal opposition has a nice ring to it, loyal to the country and opposing the current direction. We have a good deal of that kind of loyalty in both parties, but it would be refreshing to see it displayed a little more publicly. That, I guess, is when politics moves into the more rarefied atmosphere of statesmanship.

More progress with a carrot than a stick is the motto of incentive. A president who badly needs a program that's good for the country but bears too much of the imprint of his own party, might have success encouraging the opposition to frame it in different language and take the credit. It might even happen that the courtesy would be returned somewhere down the line. Congresses and presidents might spend less time pointing fingers of blame and more time enacting legislation in which they both believe. The voters don't much like finger-pointers. It comes to us from the playground that we don't much like crybabies and bullies and we're none of us all that far from the playground, no matter our age.

The principal is as valid in government interface with business and industry. If public transport is desirable, it doesn't hurt to bring in the companies responsible for private transport and hear their side of the story, make them a profitable part of the proposal. If an international threat rears its ugly head, it wouldn't be a bad idea to enter into a dialog with our allies and perhaps even our adversaries before jumping into the headlines with unilateral solutions. Leadership is not the same as a quick mouth.

I would like to think that those who represent me in government are thoughtful people, engaged with whatever loyal opposition there is in carefully conceived legislation that's good for the country. You would probably like that as well. Even politicians might heave a sigh of relief and like it.

Get out of the Archives and read what Jim's writing today