Citizens for Rational Politics

This Site Under Construction

(That is to say, I'm learning by doing)

What is rational? One may as well ask 'What is beauty?' What may seem rational to one may be no more than the rantings of a fool to another. Often the difference is a matter of education. To the uninformed, or the willfully ignorant, beauty, or a reasoned argument, can rarely be identified, let alone appreciated. Even for those who have spent their lives educating themselves on one or more of the myriad problems that face our society the problem remains. How do we determine which points of view deserve our respect and what is to be dismissed as dross. It is not as easy a task as some would have us believe. And to make matters worse, even in the ramblings of the insane some kernels of truth can be found.

How then do we determine what is rational, and what is nothing more than artfully presented rationalization? How do we decide which side of the fence we will inhabit on the many issues that confront us in Western Civilization today, tomorrow, and next year? Who do we certify as qualified contestants in our national debate, and who do we exile to the ranks of extremist or crank. How do we decide who to believe, which of the thousands of opinions presented to us by hundreds of 'experts' are we to adopt? Which direction are we to take in our lives?

The answer? Unfortunately, the position we must adopt is no better than the one adopted by those in the two major political parties, or those who inhabit the political and cultural extremes. Whether they ply their trade in the hallowed halls of Washington D.C. or hunker down in some barbed wired compound in the wilds each has chosen a way of looking at the world based on the particular subculture they are a member of. All human beings base what they believe on the framework created for them by the dominant culture and the subculture(s) they inhabit. You are no different, neither am I.

The answer is to find, or create, a subculture that allows us a wider sense of perspective. We must step outside the ways of thinking that bombard us daily. We must not imbue the nightly news with any more emotional value than we would the mumblings of a homeless person we pass on the street. The pronouncements of all 'talking heads' must be given equal weight in our deliberations, that is to say virtually none. Ask not what they are saying, but why they are saying it. And as cruel as it may sound, we must step back from the overwhelming and constant litany of tragedy that surrounds us. We can not help view it as a personal loss, but we must also view it as an indicator of the times.

Perspective can only be gained by developing a critical eye and ear, take ourselves outside so that we may see the shape of it. We may think of ourselves as all being inhabitants of the same large house. We may live in different rooms, created for us, or by us, each representing the personal world we have chosen to live in. Each may have a different feel to it, have a different style, or flavor, or needs, but each of them is part of the larger framework of the dominant American culture and Western Civilization. To develop a larger perspective, to approach a rational outlook, we must not simply visit some of the other rooms of this creation we call Western Civilization, and then pride ourselves on our multii-cultural awareness, we must step outside the house altogether. Only then can we see the shape of the thing, and only then can we begin to reshape it.

How do we begin?

Toynbee's Theory of Challenge and Response