Stitching the Nation Back Together with Common Goals

Ben

241 years ago today, the Second Continental Congress established the postal system and elected Benjamin Franklin to run it (he had previous experience as Postmaster General for the British). This is one of the most significant moments of US history, and our postal system is actually older than the United States itself. With all the blather about the conventions (along with the amazingly unsettling spin some outlets are putting on truly minor details) and all the nasty rhetoric being spewed on social media, it is important to step back, take a breath and reflect on history.

We have common goals.

All of us, regardless of party preference, regardless of who we like personally or think is the better (or worse) role model, share goals for our nation. If American voters were more capable of focusing on finding those commonalities, not only would this process be more palatable, but it would actually improve our nation on many levels.

If you want to talk about "making America great again," then you need to think about what that means and why you think it is not great right now. The root of it, most likely, is dogma. In every single instance, dogma is bad. Dogma stifles critical thinking. Dogma pits brothers and sisters against one another. Dogma commands tribute to righteousness rather than understanding our differences, our circumstances, the simple fact that even a perfect cube looks different when viewed from varied angles.

Only by combining perspectives can we achieve a workable whole view. That was something our Forefathers struggled to achieve. That is what the nation's first postal roads reflected. By facilitating communication, by making it possible for messages to be transmitted and received across great distances, our nation set the precedence for a broader view. Today we have the Internet, and while it increases speed and efficiency of transmission, too often the message is lost because dogma gets in the way of reception. Dogma encourages knee jerk reactions rather than thoughtful vetting. It is dogma that provides the false moral superiority that allows for rabid name calling and epithets. Dogma closes minds, destroys original thought and prevents productive, active, real discourse.

We may not have a new Benjamin Franklin waiting in the wings, but we do have the best postal roads in the world, waiting to stitch this great nation back together.

So the needless government shutdown of 2013 is over... who's to blame and why should we care?

Things have been pretty quiet here at the Third Party lately. But eyes have been on Washington and the general "Business As Usual" choices being made by those in office. Observing the descent into this recent government shutdown and the distractions thrown at the media in order to keep us all guessing has been very frustrating. So I am going to clear a little of this up right here and now, and actually call for some very specific action.

While at one time, the founders of this organization harbored the notion of forming a viable political alternative to the dominant parties, one which was based on reason and empathy rather than partisan dogma, it did not seem as though mainstream Americans were ready to jump on board this particular revolution. We therefore veered toward the goal of education and enlightenment, changing perspectives when possible and attempting to foster a new base of thoughtful, reasoned and educated voters. The fact that the Tea Party influence so heavily flushed through Congress in the last election cycle is evidence that our work here did not go far enough. Bearing that in mind, we are opening a Facebook page to act as our live discussion board, while keeping this site alive for commentary pieces (in this blog) and general information on the home page. It is seriously underfunded, so please do not expect frequent updates. However, change only happens when individuals act in support. And that being said, I am going to move along into the clear issues of why our government was shut down and what to do about it now.

Reminiscing About Our Origins

I was just reading an old interview with co-founder Kevin Makice that was part of the Media Giraffe Project. It reminded me of why we had gotten this beast off the ground in the first place: to change the way that people talk about politics.

Kevin had it spot on. We have to get away from labels; defining people before we know who they are or why they believe what they believe will only limit our ability to communicate effectively. We are all something other than Liberal or Conservative, Republican or Democrat, Right or Left. We all have a history that defines who we are and the way we see the world.

By getting past these limiting views, these essentially meaningless terms with which all things political are defined, perhaps we will be able to find common ground between us and see a way to work together.

Church and State Revisited

A Political Essay by Jeffrey E. Poehlmann

Originally published by 3rdparty.org on February 25, 2001

[Note: the President referred to in this essay is G. W. Bush, whose administration had been actively working to direct funds to religiously affiliated organizations and away from secular organizations that had been providing similar services.]

"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together." -- JAMES MADISON

God has never been elected to serve in Washington, but some feel He should be there anyway. By affixing his signature to an executive order to create the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, President G.W. Bush has offered his opening statement on the debate.

Left Wanting a Voice for the Everyman

A Political Essay by Jeffrey E. Poehlmann

Originally published by 3rdparty.org on January 1, 1999

A recent convening of "conservatives" in the Phoenix dessert on what many are calling an annual examination of their identity has left me asking myself an old question: Why do we label our politicians, ourselves, as conservative or liberal rather than humanitarian? Is not the purpose of government in this country to help and protect the citizens of this country? Surely the United States of America is beyond reproach when accused of the political infighting, power struggles and oppression of all opposition that marred monarchies and empires of centuries past or the dictatorial regimes of thoseless significant countries we relegate to the Third World. So why is it that our system has become in recent years so completely polarized in its struggle between the two dominant political parties to the point where a virtual coup has been attempted? Is it to protect the American People, as the proponents of this movement would have us believe, though the vast majority of the American People have spoken out in its opposition, or is this really just one more example (albeit a modern one) of the sort of political infighting and backstabbing that has brought down rulers through the ages? "Beware the ides of March," I say. It is time for the common man's voice to return to the seat of our leaders.