Politics

There is one -- and only one -- central political issue/question, though it can be stated in any number of different ways. Basically, the key question is "What do the people want from their government?" or "What is the proper role of government in our lives?" or "What is the purpose of government?" That's it. Sadly and curiously, this question rarely gets asked, let alone debated.

There are sub-questions about the organization of government, and who does what, and then an infinite number of questions regarding specifics and details, but they are all off-shoots of the central issue. My fear is that many people do not ask the central question because the answers seem so obvious. The government exists to do what THEY believe it should do, nothing more, nothing less, and anyone who believes otherwise is guilty of wrong thinking, or of not thinking at all.

I freely admit that there may be profound differences between MY views on government and YOUR views on government. First and foremost, I want government to offer a certain degree of protection from forces that would do me wrong, while allowing me a great deal of freedom to go about my daily life. This includes, but is not limited to, protecting me from foreign armies, rabid animals, asteroids, and my neighbors. I also want government to ensure a certain degree of fairness in my dealings with other humans, and an honoring of agreements. At the same time, I realize the government CANNOT protect me from everything, or ensure fairness in all dealings, at least not within the framework of freedom that I desire. In this one paragraph, I have laid the groundwork for a lifetime of debates and compromises, JUST regarding these fairly straightforward goals.

I would like to point out that I have profound doubts regarding the role of government in things like schools (I am not sure the government should be involved in schooling) or highways (I am not sure the government should be involved in road-building or in most other civil engineering projects). PLEASE note that I am NOT saying the government should NOT be involved in these things. I am merely expressing my own uncertainty.

The things we DO debate in politics are often the specifics regarding the best way to accomplish our common, universally-accepted goals, which are merely implied, and are neither common nor universally-accepted. Perhaps if we acknowledged this, we could get down to substantive debate over our real and reasonable differences.