Reframing The Ideologies Of This Election

One side believes in Original Sin, that people are basically bad. The other side is focused on skills and capacities. This is why I’m a liberal.

Election day is just a few weeks away. I see the messaging and I see that it’s becoming more and more urgent. Both sides say that the other side will destroy this country. Trump says that Biden is a socialist and that he will make the country more socialist. Biden seems to just be saying that he will bring the country together. I don’t see him talking much, but I know he’s out there, campaigning in one way or another. I would prefer someone other than either of them to vote for, but this is what we got.

As I look upon the messaging of both parties, I see one side fixated on motivating people to work. That’s the GOP. They think that people are ready to work or they wouldn’t be fighting so hard against a new stimulus plan. It’s been months since the last one was passed and yes, the economy keeps moving, but a lot of people are suffering.

The impression I have, listening to the GOP in Congress is that if we had worked harder, and saved our money, then we’d have weathered the pandemic just fine. I also see Republicans who insist that the pandemic is in some way, not as bad as liberals make this out to be. I live in a Red State with Republican super-majorities in both houses. They are taking this pandemic very, very seriously. So I know it’s not all Republicans playing down the pandemic.

I haven’t been watching the Democrats too closely, but I know that in California and New York, they have made significant progress in reducing their caseloads. They have experimented with lockdowns, social distancing, and masks and they have found what works for them.

I know that it’s easy to engage in black and white thinking, where there is nothing in between. It’s easy to assume that there is no continuum in our politics. But I do see a continuum. What I seek to contrast here is the liberal and conservative group think.

On one side, I see the conservatives with a basic message that says that people are essentially bad, that bad behavior is human nature. They say that we must give people incentives to work, to contribute to our communities, and to be productive. They say that we must dangle enough carrots and flash enough images of people in prison to keep them in line and to…