There Must Be an Option

As I consider the problems we face in our society a single question always comes up.  What are the options to fix them?  There are always options, it is just that we frequently dismiss the unattractive or disagreeable.  It is always easier to blame others than consider the potential we are wrong, but that option is always available to those who think rationally about any issue.

In my professional life, I was an aerial navigator.  It was my job to guide an aircraft when there were only limited aids to establish a position and determine a course to arrive at the desired destination.  In that role, I always had to determine what options were available to me, and question whether I was making the right choices.  Failure to question myself, and double check my work could result in us not finding our way, missing our objective or landing safely.

Today, it seems as if most people are absolutely convinced of their moral superiority and the correctness of their positions.  I often wonder how many of them are really lost and only bluffing their way through the debate.  It reminds me of an old navigator joke.

A brand-new navigator is assigned to a crusty old pilot on a C-124 Globemaster cargo aircraft. They are planning to fly from the east coast to Europe.  This is the navigators first trip.   As they prepare to take the active runway the pilot pulls his 38-caliber pistol from the holster and lays it on the center throttle console.  The young navigator asks “what is that for?”  The pilot says, “it’s in case you get me lost.”  At that point, the navigator pulls his own pistol from his holster and lays it on the navigation table.  The pilot notices this and asks, “what’s that for?”  To which the navigator replies, “I’ll know we’re lost before you will.”

Today we have a two-party system.  It has served the nation reasonably well for these past 230(ish) years.  But what happens when the parties become so committed to the minority voices they can no longer hear the cries of the majority?  The basic premise the nation was founded on was the rights of the individual must be protected, but we have now reached a point where the vocal minorities are demanding the rights of the individual must be subservient to their political desires, and the two (main) political parties seem incapable of quieting the voices pulling them to the extreme positions.

I see a number of options on how this will ultimately play out, but I am not sure any of them offer a clear path back to the Republic I was taught to love and protect.