Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Be: An Action Plan for People Disgusted by Polarized Politics
Larry R. Bradley
Copyright Larry R. Bradley 2012
Published by Kindred Minds Enterprises at Smashwords
“Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Be”
An Action Plan for People Disgusted by Polarized Politics
Larry R. Bradley
© Copyright 2006, by Larry R. Bradley. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address the Editor, Kindred Minds Enterprises, 663 N. 132nd Street, Ste 125, Omaha, NE 68154 or email author@KindredMindsEnt.com.
ISBN: 978-0-9788290-2-5
Bradley, Larry R. (Larry Ross)
Neither liberal nor conservative be : an action plan for people disgusted by polarized politics / by Larry R. Bradley.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Political participation--United States.
2. Polarization (Social sciences) 3. Political parties-- United States. 4. Political culture--United States.
I. Title.
JK1764.B73 2006 323'.042'0973
QBI06-600317
Cover Design by Lisa Pelto
Desktop production of Jennifer Frazier, ideasinc. Editorial services of Write On, Inc.
Marketing and Publicity Concierge Marketing Inc. Illustrator Jack Cassady
Kindred Minds Enterprises
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Printed in the United States of America.
Contents
Part One: Refining Your Political Philosophy
1: What Is Your Political Philosophy?
2: How Politics Is Like Sports
3: How Politics Is Like Buying a Car
4: Developing a Political Philosophy for Unavoidable Conflicts
5: Comparing Politics to Sailing and Boating
6: Comparing Sports to Equal Opportunity, Foreign Policy and Media Influence
Part Two: Seeing Through the Smokescreens
7: National Defense and Homeland Security
Part Three: Take Action:
A Proposed Letter for You to Write
Acknowledgments
I write this book hoping to create a better future for my two daughters and in memory of their mother, my first wife.
This book would not be possible without the love and support of my wife, Gail.
Thanks also to family, friends, co-workers and superiors for their love, friendship, support and contributions.
In order to bring this book to you, Kindred Minds Enterprises needed the help of several professionals, whom I acknowledge here.
Lisa Pelto with Concierge Marketing uses her over 20 years’ experience in the publishing industry to help authors succeed, especially when they must navigate the minefield of self publishing. Her Web site is at www.conciergemarketing.com.
Glenn Davis, a professional journalist and former lobbyist, has generously gone above and beyond to personally offer not just business advice, but to edit the work in progress. His advice and encouragement have been invaluable.
John R. (Jack) Cassady is a retired Army officer and combat veteran. He’s also a professional cartoonist whose works have been in print since the 1970s. He has kindly produced the illustrations in this book. A truer patriot you will not find. His Web site is www.toonmaker.com.
Brian Massey, a former co-worker and 100 percent great guy created the matrix charts.
The Kindred Minds Enterprises logo was developed by the superb work of Damon Anderson of Creative Reservoir. His Web site is www.creativereservoir.com.
Thanks also to the many other unnamed professionals who have lent their time and talent to make this book a reality.
Larry R. Bradley
Foreword
The Need to Expose and Defeat Polarized Politics
Why is everything you’re trying to do with your life so much harder to do today?
The answer is because almost everything you are trying to achieve personally for yourself and the family you have or want to have is being made immensely more difficult by the continued conflict between so-called Liberals and Conservatives and ever more extreme Polarized Politics.
If you want to make achieving what you want easier to achieve, and keeping what you achieve more likely, then I’m asking you to help me help you in that cause by exposing and defeating the causes of Polarized Politics.
The Problem Keeping Us from the Solution
Do we have significant problems in America today? Absolutely we do and they are severe. A prime problem is this. Polarized Politics itself makes us blame the wrong people, organizations and situations as the causes of the other problems.
Decades ago Oklahoman Will Rogers said, “It’s isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble; it’s what we know that ain’t so.” Sadly, the condition continues today.
If we want to talk about the actual workable solutions to the real problems we have, then we must be able to discuss what is going on around us in a candid, trusting and open way. Polarized Politics keeps us from having that discussion—and so the problems stay with us. If we want to have that discussion, then we (again) must expose and defeat the causes of Polarized Politics.
A Vital Reality to Understand
Here’s an absolutely vital reality for you to understand.
Like it or not, politics in America affects your pursuit of the life you want and how you live it. That’s because politics determines:
• Which components of your money and income are taxed.
• How much you’ll have to pay of your money and income in taxes.
• What your tax money will be spent on.
• Which of your personal freedoms will either be allowed or disallowed.
Saying you don’t care about politics is saying you don’t care—
• Which components of your money and income are taxed.
• How much you’ll have to pay of your money and income in taxes.
• What your tax money will be spent on.
• Which of your personal freedoms will either be allowed or disallowed
If you do not or have not cared about these things, then you are or have been indulging in a form of irresponsible, even negligent behavior. Do you still not care about those things? Then go on your way and continue to let others determine the outcome of your life.
If you do care about those things, then you’re about to read the book that will help you make your goals easier to achieve by changing how politics is done in America.
Why Political Philosophy Matters
Going back to what politics determines, let’s look at an even more basic fact. The answers to the questions politics answers about taxes and behavior are determined by the underlying political philosophy of the political parties and the elected officials from those parties. Think about your answers to each of the following questions.
• What is the philosophy of each of the two major parties?
• What do the parties say their philosophy is vs. what they really do?
• What is your personal 50 words or less political philosophy?*
• Does your political philosophy agree with either of the two major political parties’ philosophies?
• Do you even have a philosophy?
*Saying you’re a liberal or a conservative is stating an affiliation, not a philosophy.
This book will, perhaps for the first time, help you answer those questions in a positive way. Knowing the answers to those questions will be your first step in helping you get the kind of politics that will help you achieve the things you want in your life.
Another Reality to Understand
Here’s another reality you as an Independent or unaffiliated voter need to understand. In the past, political parties used to develop candidates and policies who would appeal to Independent or unaffiliated voters. Not any more.
Liberals and Conservatives develop candidates and policies that appeal to their true believers. Their attitude towards you as an Independent voter regarding their candidates or policies is you can take it or leave it. In fact, the two main political parties (one in particular) would just as soon you stayed home and didn’t vote.
This is a little secret no party or political movement, formal or informal, Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Green or Tea wants you to know: If Polarized Politics disgusts you to the point you don’t vote, then you are doing what those parties want you to do.
Let me say this once more for clarity. If you are confused by the claims and counter claims of the PACs, the Super-PACs, and the candidates with their radio, TV, web and newspaper ads, then those parties consider you both an amateur and an enemy--and their goal is to make you irrelevant by causing you to stay home and not vote.
According to a story in a December 2011 issue of USA Today, "More than 2.5 million voters have left the Democratic and Republican parties since the 2008 elections, while the number of independent voters continues to grow." Doubtless voters are doing so with an attitude of, “I’ll show them.” The reality is their action has the opposite effect.
Here’s what this means to you as an Independent voter. Even though your numbers are growing larger every day, your influence on the making of policy is growing smaller. You are being forced to choose between parties and their candidates who believe in an alternate reality of their own making based on myths they perpetuate among themselves.
Who This Book Is Intended For
This book is intended for those increasing numbers of Independent American voters who realize the importance of making intelligent choices about candidates and issues, but are looking for a better way to impact the political process.
In other words, this book is about political self-defense for Independent voters.
Overcoming the Confusion and Missed Direction
If you are confused by the entire process, then I know how you feel. I’ve felt that way too. I was out there trying to keep a job, make a living, build a future, and raise a family. Every day was pretty much consumed with those things, but I still wanted to do my duty as a citizen by voting.
I hoped and trusted the people I was voting for were dedicated public servants who would do the business entrusted to them well.
What business was entrusted to them? I thought then, and continue to think now; their business was to find solutions to our country’s problems in a way that balanced the interests of all Americans, not to implement solutions favoring only a few Americans.
Then I got a job where I really got a chance to see for myself what the politicians and their organizations were doing and how they were doing them. I was dismayed with what I saw. I found out my way of being a productive citizen wasn’t working for me and people like me.
We American voters have allowed our political system to evolve into one that implements solutions for the benefit of a few at the expense of the many. That’s why it has become so hard for you to achieve the things you want to achieve with your life.
I am still dismayed by what I see now. The difference is I now recognize what’s wrong and what to do to fix it.
The Discovery that Made a Difference
I came to this recognition when I made a discovery. I realized the reason I felt confused was because I had not fully developed my own political philosophy.
Let me explain something to you with an analogy, which I do a lot in this book. My feeling is you may not understand Polarized Politics, but there are other topics you do understand. My intention is to help you understand a topic you don’t understand by using a topic you do understand.
Have you ever watched how a master comedian works? One of the keys to their success is timing. They get you to laugh at one joke, then another and yet another. The comedian reaches a point in their monologue where you haven’t stopped laughing at one joke before he or she has delivered the punch line to their next joke and you have a new burst of laughter. The comedian is spinning you around and the comedian is in control of you. If you’ve ever made a playground merry-go-round spin you’ve probably done the same thing. You reached out and grabbed the handle to give the device another push so the merry-go-round doesn’t slow down.
Politicians and Political Parties Are Like Comedians
Politicians and political parties work on the same principle. The difference is instead of trying to get you to laugh or enjoy a playground ride; they are trying to make you afraid or angry. They are experts at emotional manipulation. They use highly paid experts to devise just the right words to get the reaction they’re looking for.
Here’s what this means to you. If your ability to react to political discussion is limited to thinking and talking only in terms of what you hear on talk radio or from the talking-heads political shows on TV (especially the commentators on MSNBC or Fox News—left vs. right, liberal vs. conservative, Democrats vs. Republicans), then the two main players are spinning your merry-go-round. You are reacting the way each of them wants you to react—-and you are easy to manipulate.
You are being “played” like this because you have not fully developed your own political philosophy. If you had that philosophy, then you would have the internal compass you need to avoid being manipulated against your own self-interest.
What This Book Will Do for You
This book will help you develop that philosophy. This book shows you an alternative way to create your own personal political philosophy, how to use that philosophy to interpret continuing political conflict, and then how to use your newfound knowledge to resist the manipulation of the two main political parties.
If you don't have your own political philosophy, then you're like a sailor who doesn't know how to set his sail. Your boat is going to get blown whichever way the wind blows. Conversely, if you know how to set the sail, then no matter which way the wind is blowing, you can make the boat go the way you want it to go.
Although the first edition of this book was written in 2006, the principles and information this book provides are timeless. I have between then and now, however, come across some additional information. I want to share some of this additional information with you in this preface for the eBook version. There is, for example, an easy way to clarify the conflict between liberals and conservatives directly related to the book title.
The Real Conflict between Liberals and Conservatives
Think of the conflict this way. Conservatives claim liberals want to take money from rich people and give it directly to undeserving poor people in exchange for their votes. Liberals claim conservatives want to use the power of government to benefit greedy rich people at the expense of poor people. If you're someone who believes government should not be controlled for the exclusive benefit of either the poor or the rich, then you're neither a liberal nor a conservative.
Neither of those views of government serves us well. This book offers you an alternative point of view. If you have the open-mindedness to either change or develop for the first time your own political philosophy, then everything can change for you.
Who This Book Is Not Intended For
Speaking of open-mindedness, I’ve told you who this book is for. Let me also say who this book is not for.
The professional training and education I had, coupled with my work experience prior to embarking on this project made me someone who is principle-centered and solution-oriented. As a result of developing my political philosophy, I reinforced that principle-centered and solution-oriented approach. I use principles to locate the solution that, as you will see in the book, seeks to do the greatest amount of good for the largest number of people for the longest period of time balanced against doing the least amount of harm to the fewest number of people for the shortest period of time given the funds available due to competing priorities.
In contrast, there are among us substantial numbers of politically active people who are enemy-centered and conflict-oriented. People such as these believe if you are not their friend, then you must be their enemy. So if you do not endorse the political solutions they endorse, then they conclude you must be a supporter of the political groups they consider to be their enemy.
Their orientation is an alternative reality based on myths or false data, not reality. They lack the ability to perceive reality. If shown reality, rather than adjusting their solution to reflect reality, they will deny the reality. This is because they are psychologically insecure and they base much of their self-esteem on a feeling of superiority coming from thinking their beliefs are better than yours. An admission their beliefs were false by virtue of being based on incorrect facts or myths would be detrimental to their self-esteem. They cannot allow themselves, therefore, such an admission. Such people often display the characteristics of a paranoid personality.
These closed-minded people do not have the mental and emotional flexibility and capacity to learn and apply the lessons taught here. Therefore, this book is not for them.
This book gives you the ability to recognize these kinds of people as candidates and keep them from occupying elected offices by defeating them at the polls. This book is for those who do possess the mental and emotional capacity to be able to consider all sides of an issue and find the best balanced solution.
Applying the Skills of Success to Politics
One of my favorite sayings comes from the Irish poet Robert Burns who said (using the Gaelic), “O wad the giftie gie us, to see ourselves as ithers see us.” In modern terms, Burns was saying, “Oh would God give us the ability to see ourselves as others see us.”
Stephen Covey, the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, describes basically the same desire by naming one of the Habits as “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” The success teacher Brian Tracy says one of the skills for success is the ability to say, “I may be wrong. I often am.”
These are skills all too often lacking in our society, especially in politics. Those among us who are active in politics without these skills are another reason Polarized Politics continues to exist. Another of my goals here is to help you and others like you develop those skills.
Sustaining Your New Skills
Establishing a personal political philosophy is only the first step in overcoming polarized politics in America. I also intend to publish a second book to reveal additional factors behind the enabling of Polarized Politics in America and the actions needed to isolate and defeat those factors. Those actions do not include draconian interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, amendments to the Constitution, or term limits, because they are unnecessary to getting a more effective and efficient government.
My notoriety as a political author and commentator follows my twenty years as an Army officer and fourteen years in private enterprise (see my bio on my website). I’ve been pleased to be noted for my ability not only to describe the flaws in the current political system but to offer alternative solutions for the future.
Murphy’s Law says, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” One of the corollaries to Murphy’s Law is, “Before you do anything, you have to do something else first.” The corollary applies directly to our current political situation.
Actually, It’s the System, Stupid
Elected officials behave badly because of the system America uses to elect them. Americans will continue to experience this behavior as long as we have the current system. If Americans are dissatisfied with their elected officials' behavior and want to change that behavior, then Americans must force change in the system first. The changes are simple, but the task is not easy.
The new book describing my proposed changes to the electoral and political system will be released summer 2012. This will be in step with our efforts to establish a new nonprofit organization dedicated to making the recommended changes a reality.
Meanwhile, I offer several means to reinforce the teachings of Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Be.
I offer a free weekly Ezine of commentary further interpreting the philosophy described in this book against ongoing current events. Subscribe at www.TheCenterStrikesBack.org (which used to be KindredMindsEnt.com. The name was changed because it’s easier for radio and TV listeners to remember.). You’re only asked for your name, email address, and zip code so we can see what part of the country our supporters come from. Our organization doesn't sell the list to anyone and you can unsubscribe at any time.
I also Blog at TheCenterStrikesBack.com. I have a Facebook page, TheCenterStrikesBack.org, as well as a YouTube site at TheCtrStrikesBack.
Please add your support to the effort to expose and defeat the causes of Polarized Politics. Buy this book, master its principles by joining in our activities, and encourage others to do the same.
[For more information or to schedule Larry Bradley for an interview or other presentation, please contact Erin Pankowski at erin@conciergemarketing.com or at 402-884-5995.]
Introduction
At election time, do you choose between the lesser of two evils?
Do you ask yourself, “Is this the best we can do?” Does polarized American politics disgust you?
Does the inability to solve our national issues drive you crazy?
Do you wish you could do something to clean up this mess, but then you immediately trip over thoughts like these?
• Where could I begin? (The issues are just too complex.)
• What’s wrong?
• Why are things so vicious and antagonistic?
• Where is the reasoned voice of wisdom to show me the way?
• Who has the time to figure out the solution?
Not me.
• The whole business is so slimy and disgusting, it repulses me.
• And, anyway, what impact can one person have?
If these are your feelings, then this book is what you’ve been looking for.
This open letter to the American political parties gives you a way to fight back.
I am writing this book as I might write a letter to car makers not producing the car I am willing to buy. Although I don’t expect one of them will give me 100 percent of what I want, I would hope one of them would give me 85 to 90 percent of my needs for performance and comfort. In the same way, no major political party is promoting the policies and candi- dates or taking actions I can agree with 85 to 90 percent of the time. This book is my way of telling the parties my opinion of what they must offer in order to consistently receive my vote. My hope is that you, the reader, will join me in saying this is the kind of politics and government we want.
I believe changing the policies and candidates of political parties is important, because the parties, through their policies and elected candidates, ultimately determine the government activities that impact our lives and the lives of the people we love.
Phrasing my purpose another way: If I were a government agency, I would look at this book as a Request for Proposal (RFP). The government issues RFPs when they need a solution for a problem so unique that nothing currently exists to solve that problem. An RFP allows the government to start with a fresh sheet of paper to find new solutions beyond inadequate existing ones. In this situation, none of our current political parties is providing me the promise of the kind of government I want. I am, therefore, writing a proposal for the kind of political party I want with the hope many of you will agree with my vision. Together we can change how this country does its political business.
Why Read This Book?
Because this book will provide you a new way to have a voice and a new vote to encourage our political parties to bring both long-term progress and prosperity to our political process and our country. If you are dissatisfied with the choices you have in the voting booth, then this book will help you understand why you are dissatisfied. Further, you will be provided a means to voice those dissatisfactions and get the changes you want.