problems of perspective

[adrienmundi]

I've got a problem, and it's persistent and wide ranging. In short, I don't believe in a linear, polar, binary opposition sort of world. I think I experience this a lot in relation to gender, but gender isn't the root of the problem (though it might be the place where I experience the most conflict). Politically, it maddens me, as I'm generally progressive and liberal (some might say "radical"), but I don't buy the package, and tend to be some flavors of conservative in relation to economics; I'm no Democrat, but I'm no Republican, either. (I suspect that at the root of my deep, detailed fantasies of living under a parliamentary form of government is that they require more than two parties.) I don't think "for or against" constructions do anyone any favors. I don't believe things can be broken down into either "good" or "evil" (fuck you, Zarathustra), that "light" and "darkness", day and night are at odds, that it's a question of black or white, rich or poor, selfish or selfless, strong or weak.

The point at which I usually get very, very frustrated is when I can't seem to see anything other than either/or, when I know there are other options. It feels like a personal failing on my part, my fault that I can't see past the dualistic perspective that is perpetually reinforced on a daily basis, that is the culmination of thousands of years of cultural effort (yes, I do use personal arrogance as the muscle behind my self flagellation). I hate the linear model, and that seems to be a disconnect between me and most people; polar opposition seems to be the default metaphor and/or frame, and I hate it.

More, not less.

Comments

[elgecko.livejournal.com]

The problem as I see it is an inability to see things as exactly binary when they in fact are. USA society is still slowly adjusting to the knowledge of sexual orientation and gender identity each being a continuum. USA politics are falsely constructed as binary. There are instances, though, where things are truly dead solid good and evil. Psychological torture conducted by USA in its prison camps at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram is unmistakeably, no-shade-of-grey evil. So is Hamas terrorism.

[elgecko.livejournal.com]

And another thing... You do have the choice to participate in a parliamentary system such as you describe. Canada are looking for skilled workers, and have fewer gender identity infrastructure issues than USA

[servingdonuts.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I think that a two-party system is pretty similar in function to a parliamentary system. I used to think we needed more third-party representation (since my position aligns with one of those third parties), but I've changed my mind on that score. Not because I don't think the third party viewpoints are underrepresented (I do), but because the two-party US system functionally maps to the multi-party systems used elsewhere... once you take into account factions within a two-party structure and coalitions within a multi-party structure. What we call parties they call "coalitions", and what they call parties we call "factions".

On any given question with only two outcomes there will always be polarization, and if it's a political question the two sides will be roughly equal (because if they weren't the questions wouldn't be controversial and wouldn't become an issue in the first place). But the polarity of a single issue masks the underlying spectrum, or rather multiple underlying spectra, both orthogonal and interdependent. That doesn't mean the spectra aren't there, though.

[adrienmundi]

Shockingly, I disagree.

I think the two party system in the US has become hegemonic, and the lines of differentiation sacrosanct. If they really did operate as coalitions, why don't we see more reorganization and realignment? I think that if we had multiple parties, if a big party reneged on its commitment to a smaller party, they could more flexibly build a coalition of other small parties who might feel disaffected. Under the US system, that won't happen.

and also...

[adrienmundi]

I'm not sure there are nearly as many cases of there only being two outcomes as the oppositional binary frame suggests.