Bo Leuf writes on 16 March 2003 with great wisdom about the current political context:
... may those concerned see their way to the decisions that will, ultimately, lead to a better and more stable situation. Nothing turns out as planned, so the moment-by-moment decisions by individuals are always more crucial than credited.
I'm really disinclined to comment on much of anything these days ...
I second Bo's emotions ... as I've increasingly come to suspect that in chaotic times like this it's best to be confused, conflicted, and hesitant. Excessive certainty — on any side of complex issues — is risky business. Witness events, recent and in years past, local and far away, where fanaticism has taken the reins (or reigns?!) of power.
Maybe it's useful to quantize the infinite range of possible futures into a 2x2 matrix:
| Short-term | Long-term | |
| Optimism | Quick victories, bloodless coups, etc. | Social progress, economic prosperity, increasing liberty, individual flourishing ... |
| Pessimism | Massive death and destruction | Quagmires, multi-generational hatreds, poverty, ignorance, "decline and fall" of civilizations, ... |
Pick one from each column, and you've got your scenario.
My wavefunction on all this? Fuzzy! Although I wish I could believe in the "Optimism" row, I fear that things won't go smoothly, especially for the next few generations on this globe of tears. On longer timescales, beyond my personal event horizon I can feel a bit more pollyannaistic ....
(see also Underappreciated Ideas (6 Jul 1999), Mere Anarchy (6 Oct 1999), Tolerance and Pacifism (8 Oct 2001), Learning and Losing (23 Nov 2001), Invest in Peace (9 Jul 2002), Policy Making (6 Oct 2002), Thank Goodness (25 Dec 2002), Right to Interfere (22 Feb 2002), Simply Difficult (28 Feb 2003), ...)
TopicSociety - 2003-03-19
(correlates: Bo Leuf, TheWikiWay, FreeTrial, ...)