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02335: The Distant Future

From: Fred Gohlke <fredgohlke(at)verizon.net>
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:41:38 -0400
Subject: The Distant Future

Good Afternoon, Jiri

Thank you for your note. I appreciate your response.

I agree the adoption of a new electoral method is in the distant future.
My letter to you was less about a political system than about the
weaknesses of partisan politics. The method I outlined was intended to
show a viable method of harnessing ideological differences. I'm sure
there are others.

Since it took my country over 200 years to debase its proud origin, my
guess is that it will take 200 more years to correct the excesses we
endure. I persist, not because I expect adoption of my ideas, but
because I think it important to understand how The Noble Experiment (as
the U. S. Constitution was once called) was so disappointing. Many
people seek democracy, but not many understand the reasons the first
modern example failed.

Often, political changes are inspired by demogogues and launched on
waves of emotion. That is a poor basis for change. Success in this
realm depends on understanding the complexity of human relations ...
before ... attempting to install a system of governing them.

My greatest difficulty is finding thoughtful challengers. There is
little contemporary reward for thinking about the future, and I find it
difficult. Since, like all humans, I am shackled by the limits of my
own knowledge and experience, I find my horizons expanded by those who
disagree with me, when they express their dissent rationally.

I've had the good fortune to find a few people willing to engage in the
very hard work of thinking, but am constantly searching for more.
Perhaps, in time, thought can lead to a more rational society, a society
that incorporates the ideas expressed by Jurgen Habermas, Alasdair
Macintyre, Jane Mansbridge, and many others. As Dr. MacIntyre said ...

"... everyone must be allowed to have access to the political
decision-making process to experience the internal goods that
enrich society and benefit the community"

Fred Gohlke


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