September 1, 2026: The Lighthouse and the Fog of Life: Part II

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Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. George Bernard Shaw

A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.  James Freeman Clarke

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. Plato

Every person, place, and thing are teachers, but not every one of those are students. Hoonōs

As in the previous post (Part I), I cautioned readers to take my notions with a grain of salt. While I’ve done the best I could at the time of writing any of these posts, I say again that I’m not a seer not deciding how it is or should be.

While definitions matter, I’ve written about it, asked many, and found almost no one knows what a liberal or conservative actually stand for, or what communism, socialism, democracy, or social democracy are. Some do get what capitalism is, but it still can go off the rails (that someone earned the money—if they did—does not mean they’re entitled to “corner the market”).

I will say that no one is a full-time liberal or conservative. We all practice both. Nonetheless, that doesn’t seem to stop many from creating an “us and them” category.

I will also say that this: social democracy is not socialism, much less communism.

I encourage readers to look up the definitions and to do so from at least three different sites.

When I began college after high school, I arbitrarily chose political science as my major. In those days the definition of political science was “the art of influence.” Nowadays the definition seems to coil back on itself, which is probably why there’s a different definition, though still populated by strange bedfellows and attempts at influence.

As it turned out, trying to influence is a siren song calling one’s vessel onto the cliffs. Science is about scientists trying to prove their hypothesis is incorrect. Political science is not a science as practiced by politicians who only look for ways to be right.

One might get “likes” when influence is the goal, but it is much too easy to incorporate inveigling and intriguing instead of incorporating integrity. Trying to get folks to believe by making them feel like a vulnerable class of people is a kind of molestation of mind and emotion at the expense (literally and figuratively) of others who are not considered in the same class. The result is always an outcome of “us” versus “them” and for someone else to get the shine.

What we might have forgotten

It might help if we remember that casting a ballot does not mean we’re done. There is no more final “washing one’s hands” of a situation than there is driving a car and no longer needing to pay attention.

It might help if we know that what is right for bees and their hive, is not a correct model for all other beings. Having a singular leader means major vulnerability. Having a singular position in a singular hierarchy is also a major vulnerability. In the first example, authoritarian types who demand to be followed create a population of followers. In the second example, if we are limited to doing only one thing, we are good at only one thing.

It might help if we recognize there is little homeostasis in life and personality within or between any life form, but there is a lot of divergence both within and between life forms. Divergence is like having a balanced economic portfolio as opposed to having all our eggs in one basket.

It might help if we realize we do not follow the leader, we follow a compass heading. If it’s true there is a “North Star,” our directions are set. Any good “leader” does not lead because they are the leader, they lead because they know there is a “North Star” that defines three other directions. Then it requires sober input about what can happen while following a direction. One person alone cannot know it all, much less do it all. The latter point does not mean the need for sycophants; it means the need for independent input, which requires everyone, including the “leader” to truly listen before critiquing.

It might help to remember that while the “strong” may take what they want, it does not mean they get what they need (yes, sort of the lyrics in a Rolling Stones song). We’re all human.

It might help if we recognize it is not a “flag” we fight for, it is our individual and collective integrity in getting it right as opposed to being right. Examining integrity and rightness requires tuning on occasion. When morality seems to conflict, the first thing to do is to get still. After that, the second, third, etc. things to do are to examine our own stance, not to denigrate another’s.

It might help to remember that kneejerk responses can be great to duck and dodge when something comes at us unexpectedly, but they’re awful ways to respond when our stance is questioned.

It might help if we realize that seeking comeuppance is not the same as seeking justice.

It might help if we know we’re constructing our structures, not discovering them. And we construct our lives within our limitations. We might do well to exam both our constructs and our limitations from time to time. Finding design and behavioral flaws does not mean some folk are great and others are—well, other—it can mean we’re seeking to do and be better.

It might help if we know that life may be more about stewardship than gold and glory. Perhaps our interpersonal and intrapersonal politics deserve that consideration.

It might help if we know that being a politician in the political arena can be a necessary vehicle to get to the wellbeing for as many as possible. However, the driver is not the vehicle. The vehicle is our Constitution, amendments, Bill of Rights, checks and balances, due process, etc.

It might help to know there is seldom a straight line between one point and another. Furthermore, to expect nothing to be in the way on that path is a set-up for blame.

It might help to recall that our latest political folly is not even close to our first. And there will be more folly as human beings are fallible as well as amazing. The point is the need to re-member, re-cognize, and re-construct, even if it’s annoying.

It might help to focus first on fixing the problem and not the blame—there is plenty of time for blame.

It might help to not elect “leaders” who seek office by constructing a platform of blaming “others” along with promises to hold “others” accountable while the rest grab the gold ring.

We can be like moles in holes popping up to take a whack at our own and other souls (poetry? nahh!). Yet, we can come together when others need our help. The shift to help does not require the elimination of bad behaviors, it requires adjusting the ratio to practice civility over incivility.

All good behavior and disciplines require practice. It is a mistake to think human development could be completed. And that’s why we also need space between the onslaught of ever-changing variables. Think of actual time off as opposed to setting aside one day a week that becomes yet another habit.

Okay, I’ve got to shake off this seriousness for a bit. I’m not a “firefighter” (there’s a group of folks I genuinely admire), but it does feel like the joint is on fire so it’s not the calmest of times.

In the meantime, I’m going to seek “shelter,” and come back next month with some lightheartedness (I hope that doesn’t alert “Murphy and his law”). I’m thinking about the four-body problem. Yeah, that should be lighthearted…