Opinions and Editorials Archives - Page 3 of 7

How Long Does It Take to Make a Democracy Work?

By Jim Bauman February 21, 2024Opinions and EditorialsAmerican South, Democracy, H. L. Mencken

Democracy has had a rough ride here in the U.S. In the hundred years from World War I to today, it has increased and declined. The misgivings that H.L. Mencken had about the workings of democracy as he saw it 50 years after the Civil War are still with us today.

My Morals Are Stronger Than Your Morals

By Jim Bauman February 13, 2024Opinions and EditorialsGeorge Lakoff, Jonathan Haidt, Metaphors, Politics

The difference between conservatives and progressives or liberal and their electoral success or not is complicated. Lakoff attributes this to messaging and Haidt to moral differences.

Tangled Trees, Tangled Truths

By Jim Bauman February 13, 2024Opinions and EditorialsAnalogy, Conservatives, Politics, Progressives

Thinking about how our divided politics, which is so mixed up and tangled, that it looks similar to the kind of tangling that physicists and biologists deal with.

Conservatives Tell Us How to Behave

By Jim Bauman January 21, 2024Opinions and EditorialsConservatives, Marginalized People, Progressives

How do conservatives look at the concerns of progressive people? From the book The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray, like a bunch of complainers who don't know how good they have it.

Believe Me, I’m Telling You the Truth!

By Jim Bauman January 1, 2024Opinions and EditorialsMajorities, Majority Rule, Opinion, Political Truth

Some thoughts on truth and believability, which are not the same thing. Truth can be slippery and discerning it can take some effort on the reader's or listener's part. It's as easy to be deceived as to be enlightened.

Is the Majority Always Wrong?

By Jim Bauman December 23, 2023Opinions and EditorialsAnti-Democracy, Democracy, Majority Rule, Mark Twain, Minority Rule

Mark Twain had no trust or love for majority rule, but since our country is supposedly democratic, how does that mistrust of majority rule align with what kind of country the US wants to be? There's a lot of anti-democratic feelings boiling up in the country now.