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Looking Left and Right: Inspiring Different Ideas, Envisioning Better Tomorrows I remain a firm believer in late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone's observation that "We all do better when we all do better." That objective might be worth pursuing more diligently." If we don't look for ways to tamp down the vitriol and intense hatred which members of Left and Right teams freely direct at "the opposition," we will not only foreclose whatever options might still remain to find common ground that moves us all forward. Worse still, we will eliminate both the hopes for and attainment of a better and more peaceful future. We're too close to achieving that empty triumph as it is. We might not want to acknowledge that we're all in this together, but we are. The sooner we pause for a moment and ask ourselves What Happens Then? if we continue to stoke the white-hot partisan fires, the sooner we realize that sustaining polarization is not in the best interests of anyone. If we keep doing more of the same partisan same, the answer to What Happens Then? won't be to anyone's liking--not that current antipathy is offering us much. It's actually not contributing anything other than deepening the divide. There will be harsher consequences from doing more of the same. Aren't we better than that? Shouldn't we want, expect, and deserve more? There's plenty of blame to go around, of course. But we're no closer to one side winning--whatever that might mean--than we ever have. Partisans on each side might not (or might not want to) believe that, but if Left or Right is counting on Right or Left to concede, a long and painful wait is all that's guaranteed. Sure as hell we won't experience "better" by doing more of what we're doing now".So I'm hoping to do my part by offering--from my staunchly progressive approach--a different and more meaningful perspective on our conflicted public dialogue. I invite you to join in. Who knows " we just might get to a better place after all! Richard Turcotte is a retired attorney and former financial adviser (among other professional detours) and now a writer.
OpEd News Member for 693 week(s) and 3 day(s)
117 Articles, 6 Quick Links, 72 Comments, 0 Diaries, 4 Series, 0 Polls
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Thursday, October 6, 2016The Polarization Option Pt 1 There are no easy answers or options for resolving the great differences that currently divide us. If anything, the combination of extremist rhetoric, media complicity, political indifference, the hypocrisy from too many corners, and the unsettling impacts of wealth and inequality on our democracy does nothing but deepen the divide.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Tuesday, October 4, 2016Peak Oil: Start With Reality Pt 6 A finite resource drawn daily for more purposes by more people has some inherent limitations. Coupled with the daunting realization as to how much we depend on finite resources to conduct daily living, the process of transitioning away from that dependency to some still-undefined Plan B is going to be an undertaking to exceed all undertakings.
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Wednesday, September 28, 2016Left v. Right: Different Worlds Pt 6 If the only advantage in preserving a status quo is to delay doing anything, the primary achievement will be to ensure the difficulties have been compounded....Cause-and-effect merits more consideration than it gets. All the more so in light of the steady stream of nonsense issuing from Donald Trump and his apologists.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Monday, September 26, 2016Peak Oil: Start With Reality Pt 5 While the pseudo-truthful distractions--the Yes It Has-No It Hasn't debates and ink barrels full of qualifiers ["if"; "potential"; "could possibly" and assorted other literary ploys]--about energy/fossil-fuel supplies both present and future continue unabated, the underlying issue remains unchanged.
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Wednesday, September 21, 2016Left v. Right: Different Worlds Pt 5 It would be much easier and certainly more comforting if the complexities of modern society and the needs, perspectives, and values of so many different others weren't factored into the mix. But simplistic decision-making carries a host of risks. Making things worse later for more of us isn't exactly an ideal worth pursuing.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Monday, September 19, 2016Peak Oil: Start With Reality Pt 4 We're a long way off from a world without fossil fuels, but we're not so far away from a world where the plentiful and affordable and accessible supplies stop being plentiful and affordable and accessible
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Wednesday, September 14, 2016Left v. Right: Different Worlds Pt 4 There's much to be said for adherence to tradition and social order. A society changing its rules and principles on a regular basis is a society going nowhere fast. Chaos deliberately chosen is almost never a wise course of action for any undertaking! But that is hardly the beginning and the end of those conversations and considerations.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Monday, September 12, 2016Peak Oil: Start With Reality Pt 3 For all the billions of barrels of fossil fuel resources still to be found and/or produced, the truth is that successfully doing so will require more investment [time, money, effort]; more energy to be used; longer lead times; adaptation to expanding geopolitical concerns; new technological hurdles, and sufficiently high market prices [for starters].
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Wednesday, August 24, 2016Left v. Right: Different Worlds Part 3 For those of us on the Left, the failure of conservatives to address the economic imbalances and the obvious harm amounts to callous disregard. It may be convenient to seek closure quickly and avoid troubling oneself with nuance and a range of considerations affecting policy, but that strategy has its drawbacks...
Monday, August 22, 2016Peak Oil: Start With Reality Pt 2 When will there be a pause in denial and the flow of misleading half-truths so that all of us can begin the complex, years-in-the-making processes of adaptation to a world where fossil fuels are not the immediately available source of energy? The inevitable challenges of dealing with a depleting, finite resource are not limited in impact to those on the left side of the great political divide.
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Friday, August 19, 2016Left v. Right: Different Worlds Pt 2 Compounding the challenges of just getting the two political sides to the same table are the many underlying values, principles, beliefs, and ideological underpinnings that serve as the foundation for motivations and policy. They, too, are quite different and distinct.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Monday, August 15, 2016Peak Oil: Start With Reality Pt 1 Optimism is almost always a better choice than doubt, but in most instances, it must be tempered by acknowledging realities. Facts can be both inconvenient and annoying when they conflict with a purposeful narrative, but ignoring them will not make them disappear
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Thursday, August 11, 2016Left v. Right: Different Worlds Pt 1 Progressives have long sought compromise to at least move us all forward, whereas now in particular, the right's death-grip on their ideology and the banishment of compromise as a strategy leave us all wanting. Not a good place to be if the future matters.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Wednesday, August 10, 2016Peak Oil: Cherry-Picking The Facts Optimism is a wonderful attribute. But when it is deployed to mislead and misinform, the luster of "wonderfulness" wears off quickly. That this tactic has become too much the norm in both energy and political discussions is self-evident. What may not be quite so obvious is the long-term harm to all of us.
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Thursday, August 4, 2016Left v. Right Pt 10 Adhering to ideological traditions and/or avoiding any consideration of issues which suggest a greater public role in providing basic sustenance and support for the many not blessed with social and educational opportunities is convenient. But is it right by any measure of basic decency and concern for the common good?
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Wednesday, August 3, 2016Peak Oil: Where To Go From Here? Pt 5 Conventional crude oil has been in many ways the most astonishing discovery in our history--all the more significant given how its many benefits have extended in so many directions. While production totals are substantial enough for now, and most likely for quite some time to come, that's not the answer to any questions about the adequacy of our long term energy supply.
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Wednesday, July 27, 2016Left v. Right Pt 9 The consequences of legislative pursuits benefiting the few at the continuing expense of the many will be unpleasant at best if too many of us continue to rely on convenient rationalizations rather than working together.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Tuesday, July 26, 2016Peak Oil: Where To Go From Here? Pt 4 We remain free as always to choose to fear the consequences of a permanent decline in the availability of affordable and accessible fossil-fuel supplies. The enduring impact on our society and our ways of life as a result of a diminished supply of our primary energy supply is no small matter. So fear is certainly an option. But it's not our only one.
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
Wednesday, July 20, 2016Left v. Right Pt 8 We're now presented with new choices that have at least the potential to tone down the divisive rhetoric. That choice will also lead to a sounder appreciation for, and understanding of, the perspectives of those with whom we've been previously inclined to simply dismiss. Better outcomes for us all--while not assured--are much more likely than what present tactics offer.
Series: The Left v Right Conflicts (17 Articles, 14514 views)
Monday, July 18, 2016Peak Oil: Where To Go From Here? Pt 3 A moment's pause to consider the practical realities of billions of others looking to improve their lifestyles on any scale by which we measure our own progress and achievements should realize immediately that a finite set of ever-more-challenging-to-acquire energy supplies needed to power those advances can only be spread so thin.
Series: Peak Oil - A Challenge Not To Be Overlooked (41 Articles, 34621 views)
