In Defense of Perspective

Hello friends:

This is my maiden voyage on this new fangled website. Some of you may recall my prior work and you can expect that I will be channelling those old themes in the weeks and months ahead. However brief, I offer the following …

Over the last several months, there has been a prevailing narrative in the general discourse that suggests that our society, as it stands in present day and perhaps since its inception, has become or always was irredeemably flawed and therefore we need to eradicate it and begin anew. From my vantage point, this narrative appears to be driven equally by those who wish to do and see good in society and also by those who seek not much else other than chaos and disorder. This piece is not really about the merits of either side of this argument but offered as a backdrop.

I think that our society is great because, in this society, the son of an Iranian immigrant who came here with no more than $1,500 in his pocket, no understanding of the language or its nuances, no relationships, no friends, and really not much else other than hope and a prayer, and a firecracker-turned-woman from New Jersey, who ultimately met by way of a blind date set up by a coworker that happened to rotate between floors in the same building, can build, live, and enjoy whatever life he wants, including one free of regular vegetable consumption.

I think that this society has flaws. I think that our leadership has flaws. I think that our people have flaws. I think this because I too am a human being and human beings are, by their nature, flawed. I think that we need to recognize and accept the flaws in others, including those who are trying their best to get it right and especially those that occasionally, as we all do, get it wrong.

I think that there are serious issues and policy proposals that need to be discussed, evaluated, debated, and reconciled. I think that we need to be able to do all of these things in a mutually respectful manner that lessens the vitriol, accusations, baseless character assassinations, and pettiness that so many of us have grown weary of from our current leadership.

I think that the modern discourse in our society has become so adversarial and toxic that it has become less about how we can lift each other up to do better and more about how we can tear down those with whom we disagree in a specious attempt to lift ourselves higher. I think that those are tactics utilized by losers.

I think it is time for a change.

I think that no system is perfect but if we are to keep striving towards perfection, we need to humble ourselves to each other, ever mindful of the reality that none of us knows everything and none of us have arrived at present day by way of the same experiential path.

I think that in order to achieve the society that we want, we need to stop waiting for some messianic-politician from our preferred side (or no side) of the political spectrum to descend upon us and save us from our perceived squalor. I think that we need to take responsibility for our lives, demand accountability from each other, and repudiate hypocrisy every time it appears, especially when it comes from those with whom we agree. I think that we need to ask tough questions and be prepared for hard answers.

I think that we need to be able to evaluate and understand those issues we find to be important from all angles, taking into consideration the entire universe of facts as they exist, particularly those facts that are inconvenient for whatever argument is being advanced. I think that we need to take time to pause while the facts develop and the evidence is marshaled before we rush to judgment.

I think that we need to agree that it is okay to shift or change our general philosophies on issues as we evolve as people. I think that we need to accept that sometimes, our initial thoughts or feelings are wrong, and to admit that out loud. I think that we need to come to terms with the reality that sometimes, our opponents are right, and to learn to accept defeat with grace and class.

I think that we need to invite, welcome, and accept criticisms and opposing viewpoints with the understanding that it is acceptable for people to vehemently disagree with one another. I think that we need to rid ourselves of the flawed assumptions that people who hold views that differ from ours are instantly evil, bigoted, unintelligent, uninformed, callous, immoral, or all of the above.

I think that we need to remember that although we may agree on the problem, we may seriously disagree on the solution. I think that we need to learn and re-learn the concept of compromise; always remembering that most things in life are not binary and successful policymaking is not a zero sum game.

Through this account, I hope to offer and share some perspectives with you. More to come in the near future.