The Collective Wisdom

I read an article on the opinion site 'The Punch' the other day that was discussing the failings of a right and a left wing perspective and the division and hatred that has been brewing between the camps. I too have been concerned with the growing bitterness that is dividing the nation. The author sort of summed up the differences by saying that 'At its most basic level it’s a battle between heart and head.' While that may be a generalisation and an over simplification of the make up of ones political leanings I think there is some truth in that statement.

On the battleground of the heart and head or the emotional and the rational insults are flung. Lefties are called bleeding hearts and can claim the high moral ground by pointing to the right wing's agenda as one of self interest or xenophobia or any other myriad of phobias that threaten the self interest. The conservative right can put down the left as self righteous communist radicals. On a leftist publication I saw someone say “I've always wondered if the reason people on the right apear loony is because they are all secretly a split personality. Democracy is by its very nature collectivist and the right are by their nature individualist. Therefore if you stick a group of people who's only cry is "me me me me me me me" into a room and expect them to discuss "us" they just lose the plot and go spontaneously bonkers.”

As much as I chuckled I think It's more complicated than that. I think a right perspective can be more personally an honest perspective whereas to have a left perspective you have to battle with your own selfish nature to hold everyone elses interests ahead of yours...does that make the lefties the ones with the split personality? Either way I'm not sure that any of this characterisation and character assasination is helpful, the fabric of our society is being worn thin with people treading over one another disrespectfully. Scientists and Economists are dismissed by one man who claims to know more than them all put together for example, but I digress.

Why are we choosing to be right or left at all, shouldn't every issue be addressed on its merits where an individual can come to an independent conclusion?

“At its most basic level it’s a battle between heart and head.”

To the ancient Hebrews wisdom was when the heart and the head worked together to evaluate and inform the worth of an idea or a decision. Maybe the most whole individuals are those with a bit of right and left in them...or failing that we should at least recognise that together we can have wisdom. I think we all want to see wise decisions being made so let’s meet in the middle, not let the middle be a warground. And we can have robust debate around it so long as robust isn't used as an excuse for offensive.

Rational vs Emotional...the answer isn't just somewhere inbetween, the answer is when you can say yes to both.

I think we are at our best when we are helping others and through doing that I've seen it to be the most effective way of helping yourself to be happy (not necessarilly rich though). Maybe that's the secret. To fulfill our self interest, to make us happy, we have to help others. Self interest is about winning but winning doesn't have to come at the cost of someone else losing. Even right wing folk understand win win situations, it is what an economy thrives on (that or oppressing others). But it has to be a global economy that thrives not a national one. National interest is self interest under another name and it too can have winners and losers or winners and winners.

Am I convinced by everything I say here...not sure...maybe I need a friend opposite me on the spectrum to debate respectfully with...who wants to be that friend?