A brief reaction to the election results.
Some expected a “red wave,” others hoped for a “blue wave,” although neither happened. Many believe “our country is more divided than ever,” but this could be a matter of perspective. There were lots of close races and several of the more extreme candidates were defeated. Both houses of Congress will be narrowly divided. Certainly, we are divided, but what do all our votes say about our overall opinion?
In his “Foundation” series, Isaac Asimov proposed that although individual behavior is nearly impossible to predict, it might be possible to use the mathematics of probability to predict the long-term behavior of large numbers of people. He described how Hari Seldon founded the science of psychohistory to predict the rise and fall of empires. It seems to me millions of votes might be telling us more than how many people like this or that candidate. It’s possible that the numbers tell us what “we the people” expect our representatives to do after they take office.
Ronald Reagan said, “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent traitor.” Perhaps 80 percent of us generally agree with each other, despite the straw man arguments of those on the margins who claim that the other side are all traitors or nutjobs based on the actions of a few. It’s not difficult to find examples of people who make outrageous statements or propose extreme policies, but that’s not how governance works. If most people favor a more middle-of-the-road approach, the outliers are generally outvoted. “The Squad” is only four people out of 435. It takes more than a handful of blowhards to constitute a majority. Just as talking points should not be mistaken for facts, 20 percent of us should not be allowed to set the tone for everyone else.
It’s probable that the aggregated opinion of those who voted (and most who did not) is that we expect those who represent us to find common ground and govern from the center. There is no clear “mandate” for either MAGA or the Green New Deal, much less the authoritarianism or socialism these have been said to represent. Otto von Bismarck was not wrong in his opinion that “Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best.” So many close races and the near parity of left and right in Congress might mean that together we expect our representatives to compromise. Often, we can’t please everyone, but we can find solutions that most can live with, even if they are not ideal. The 80/20 rule may have to do if we want a functioning government. Obstructionism and brinksmanship may be off the table. Coalitions and good faith agreements can move us toward the center.
Without a center, we will fail. Single-party states have not fared well in the long run. The opposition must remain loyal if we want our government to succeed. In his poem, “The Second Coming,” Yeats put it this way:
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…”
With all due respect to Yeats, the center must hold. Too many lives depend on it. We must find ways to respect one another and work together or our experiment will fail. The recent vote might mean that we are one step closer to anarchy – to falling apart. On the other hand, I hope and pray it means we expect those we have elected to find the center and hold on to it for dear life.
MurrayWorks 