Ideology

As I reflect on the current shutdown that our country is facing, I'm confronted with a stark fact that has been on my mind for years. In regards to this economic impasse, it comes down to one simple fact: This is a battle of ideology... and ideology my friends, might be the single greatest hindrance the United States of America faces.

Let me take one quick step back. I would like this to be the first post on a series. The theme of this series is the betterment of our society and the betterment of our planet. I am constantly thinking about ways in which we, as a people, can grow and evolve into better humans, better stewards, and ultimately, better Christians (although I would like this blog to be for all wakes of people). I constantly obsess over the mechanisms that could lead us forward, and the ones that keep us backwards. Over the course of the last 6 years or so, there have been observations I've noted, which seem to be affirmed by the brilliant people out there who are paving the way for evolving. So to begin with the series, I would like to start with the concept of ideology, especially how it pertains to America and the current impasse we are struggling with.

Ideology is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, "the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group." On a surface read this definition does not come off as an evil. In fact, I would even call an inherent necessity of human beings in order to move forward as a collective body. We need ideology/ideology is simply a way of describing the beliefs that guide a society. For example, one ideological belief we have as Americans is that all humans [sic] are created equal with inalienable rights. That sounds great right? We can hear this in the rhetoric of our elected officials. They would all agree (whether they mean it or not) that we are equal and have inalienable rights and any who disagreed would probably find him or herself out of a job.

However, the surface of something rarely represents what is truly underneath. The truth is that ideology is as inherent to society as human nature is to people. The ideal nature of ideology would be to show us what beliefs are guiding our society so that we could visualize and move forward, or adjust and move forward. Unfortunately, what really lies under the surface of ideology is a monster, a being that has a mind of its own, some kind of squid that has it's tentacles in every facet of society and its collective citizens. The truth is that ideology has become the puppet master of an uninformed body of people, feeding them the lie that they in fact do have the information they need to give intelligent input into the direction our country should move.

We have become so reliant on ideology to tell us where to go, what to believe, who to vote for, what mechanisms of life are important, that it has literally become a wall blocking our path to a better development. Any shnuck can claim to be an intelligent, voting participant if they just follow the script ideology has given them. And what happens if a person strays from the script? The rest of society demonizes them as an anarchist or a socialist.

Let's take our current situation. There are two ideologies present, both guided by the same overarching ideology of free market capitalism, or free market enterprise if you will, as the only mechanism to attain healthy growth (is it possible that there are other ways?). One ideology's script says that it believes the best way forward is if private businesses have as few regulations as possible so that they can do what it is they do, unchecked by the government. Through the invisible system of competition these businesses will provide the best products and the most healthy way forward. This ideology also stretches into the individual telling them that the healthiest form of society is to have as small amount of taxes as conceivably possible and everything should be privatized. Anything that comes from the government is bad. Why? Because once upon a time England tried to tax us without giving us any representation in Parliament, and because once upon a time totalitarian governments decided to call themselves socialist. And if anyone strays from this script they are a socialist too (not in it's true sense, but in the sense of Communist Russia and Communist China) and any worthwhile ideas coming from them must not be considered, in fact they should be rejected.

On the other side is another ideological script. This one acknowledges the flaws of human nature, guided by the monopolies of the industrial revolution. This script says that anything unchecked will ultimately lead to greed and corruption. Through government checks, human greed can be held at bay and our society will have steady, albeit, slow growth. Taxes should be moderate, but not too progressive, because free market capitalism still needs to claim the day (they don't want anyone to call them a socialist). There needs to always be a security blanket for those in society who need "an extra push" because we have systems of corruption, racism, and segregation still in place, and in order to ensure that the security blankets are still in place, we need to spend money, because spending money equals a healthier society, and a healthier society can pay their taxes. If anyone strays from this script they are demonized as a corrupt person who only wants to make money at the expense of anyone who gets in their way.

Both of these ideologies have their merits and both of them have their gross downfalls, but most importantly, they are set in stone! Our people have grown up with one or the other instilled in them, beaten into them, shrouded over their faces. They have been given a code of conduct and a language to understand it. There are key words that are used to back up their logic and there are key words that alert them to the enemy.

What has become apparent to me over the years are three reasons why ideology might be the single greatest hindrance to a collective people developing further. First is that it provides the lay person with a language and a belief that is not only easy to comprehend, but easy to espouse and reiterate. With the majority of our population working at jobs outside of political and societal education, maintaining responsibilities outside of their jobs, and trying to sneak in a little entertainment where they can, who has time to learn of new and innovative ways forward? People will always go for the simpler route because people always want to seem like they know what they're talking about, and the simpler route is an ideology that has already provided a language and belief system that accommodates the working person.  

Second, ideology is the end all be all, as opposed to the mirror that shows us what our guiding beliefs are. It should never be the end all be all. When ideology becomes rigid, it does not allow new ideas to permeate because they are foreign and they might upset the already ordered belief system, regardless if those ideas might lead to a higher form of living. There is a term for the person who allows their ideology to be the end all be all. They are called ideologues and they exist on both the left and the right. These are the soldiers of their current ideology. They protect and attack ANYTHING that looks foreign. They can be recognized because they have made the simple ideological language their own and they use the key words that have already been given to them.

Lastly, ideology has become the mechanism to keep the masses in line, on board, and approving. It is another way to maintain the status quo. When people are so focused on their ideology as being the "best way forward" and the other ideology as being the enemy, they are given a battle to fight, and fight it they do! This battle occupies their time, their energy, and their intellect, and keeps them from looking around, from seeing different paths, and from considering new ways forward. With their minds focused on a battle that was simply handed down to them the status quo can be maintained and free market capitalism, with all of it's greed, and little of it's benefits can keep on going the way it's always gone.

Considering our current government shut down, it can be easily ascertained that this is not a shutdown over differences of the budget, but a shutdown over the differences between ideology, fought by ideologues. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid... they are all ideologues, fighting over who has the superior ideology. And the centerpiece of this ideological battle has taken on the form of healthcare. The evidence: We currently have a shutdown of our federal government, which not only is affecting museums and national parks/sites, but also hundreds of thousands of toddlers who are not able to benefit from the Head Start Program, and hundreds of thousands of senior citizens who rely on Meals on Wheels. The Republican Party has been very explicit that they did not pass a budget because Democrats would not consider defunding the Affordable Care Act, which has nothing to do with the budgetary needs of the country.

Now lets consider the issue of the Affordable Care Act. This is a law that was put in place that stands in stark contrast to the ideological script of those on the right. It is implemented and backed by the Federal Government (Big Government = Bad), and entails the demand that all people purchase insurance (ideological translation: tax), as well as companies with 50 plus employees (Business Regulation). There's no way that a person of the Republican Party could support something with this kind of language! However, there's a stark difference: Yes, Republicans are against this for ideological reasons, and they voted against it, but it passed! It passed! And then the next avenue was sought: a lawsuit fought in the Supreme Court. And it was upheld! The last facet was the elections in 2012, elections that were considered to be the validating or invalidating factor of the legitimacy of the ACA. Not only was Barack Obama reelected, but Democrats gained a bigger majority in the Senate and held on to any contested seat in the House. Another ideological belief most Americans would vocally espouse, the democratic process, was utilized to legitimize a provocative law and the result was passage by Congress (validation), the reelection of those who passed it (validation), and the upholding of said law by the Supreme Court (validation).

At that moment the issue should be done, dealt with, we move on. But the ideological loyalty of a small, yet forceful faction of people have gone beyond the realms of a representative democracy and now our government has had its first shutdown in 17 years. This is quite frankly a perfect example of the demon known as ideology. What does this say about the value you we place on democracy, when it is aloud to run its course, when challenges of a contentious law are taken on as our democratic system allows, and then that law is upheld, but then we give idealogues room to proclaim loudly, "We do not agree and we are not going to abide."? This says that we now put more stock in defending ideologies than the democratic process that our forefathers put into place (and how many of the Tea Party like to quote our forefathers).

What is the solution? Simple... let ideology be what it should: a mirror. Let ideology show us our reflection and if we do not like what we see, then we should be a people who, without shame, can say that we do not like our reflection and would like to better ourselves. Let us be a people who honor innovation, new ideas, and challenges, not a people who view that which is different as a threat that must be destroyed. Lastly, when we can acknowledge that ideology has been a puppeteer and we have been puppets, then we can finally move forward and better the reflection we see staring back at us. At the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the mindset of the day was that the lower class needed to work the land while the aristocracy owned and profited from such tasks. With the introduction of steam powered technology the mindset changed and the world evolved. There were a lot of issues in the changes that came and there were many crimes and corrupt practices that enfolded and were eventually worked out, but the mindset changed and we developed the free market system. While in its infancy and in its golden years free market capitalism was the necessary vehicle we needed to evolve and develop further. With it came a new system of beliefs, a new ideology, and it is that ideology that is in control today, preventing us from getting rid of it, preventing us from evolving. But we are at the brink of a new revolution, an opportunity to take on new, innovative, brilliant ideas that can move our world into a future where all people have food, shelter, energy, transportation, and where we live in harmony with the world and the resources it provides for us. The only question is will we accept these new ideas, or will we let the ideologues of the world continue to fear and destroy them? The answer lies with all of you. 

*Some time soon I will explore more of what was laid out here in regards to scarcity, our political system and simple, but radical, ideas of improving it, how technology can bring us into a future full of abundance, and how the idea of such a future is usually met with great fear and violence. Thanks for reading.