October 1, 2008
Yesterday I talked about applying moderation to our driving habits.
In an interesting coincidence, today I saw an article about how traffic accidents increase on Election Day.
Now, why would that be?
The article goes on to mention that perhaps unfamiliar routes, more drivers on the road, or rushing to the polls before they close could contribute to this phenomenon (observed by Canadian researchers, no less). Perhaps these are the reasons, but I have to wonder if it is not because people are so distracted by all of the hyperbole and craziness surrounding presidential elections these days. Are we turning our vehicles into guided missles, subconsciously aiming them at anyone who may disagree with us?
Yesterday I talked about applying moderation to our driving habits.
In an interesting coincidence, today I saw an article about how traffic accidents increase on Election Day.
Now, why would that be?
The article goes on to mention that perhaps unfamiliar routes, more drivers on the road, or rushing to the polls before they close could contribute to this phenomenon (observed by Canadian researchers, no less). Perhaps these are the reasons, but I have to wonder if it is not because people are so distracted by all of the hyperbole and craziness surrounding presidential elections these days. Are we turning our vehicles into guided missles, subconsciously aiming them at anyone who may disagree with us?
Elections, especially presidential ones, are big events in a democratic society. We actually get the chance to determine who will run the country for the next four years, still a relatively recent development in recorded world history, although not as recent as many of us think. We would have to go back to our mentors in many things, the ancient Greeks, to get to the start of democracy.
Greece at that time was not one unified nation, but a collection of democratic city-states; the best known and most successful of which was Athens. But all residents in Athens were not elegible to vote, only adult Athenian men, born of two Athenians, could participate.
Greece at that time was not one unified nation, but a collection of democratic city-states; the best known and most successful of which was Athens. But all residents in Athens were not elegible to vote, only adult Athenian men, born of two Athenians, could participate.
Fortunately, democracy, especially in the US, has changed a lot since then. But, traffic accidents notwithstanding, many of us forgo the opportunity to participate in the democratic process, and do not vote at all.
Some of us vote in the spirit of vengeance.
Aristotle saw politics as a practical science whose object was the noble action or happiness of the citizens. Yet politics as it is practiced now seems to lead to anything but happiness or noble action.
In the last twenty years, elections have become more and more about superficialities, and less and less about things that really matter to everyone. Extremism, personal attacks, and partisanship on both sides of the political debate have polarized us, and to some extent, traumatized us. We find ourselves losing our balance, and reason is trumped by small-mindedness.
Is it any wonder, then, that we lose control of our cars? We have lost control of ourselves.
Perhaps this year we can go to the polls in the spirit of moderation and reason, using the principles of mindfulness to keep us calm, and safe. We can have our opinions, and others can have theirs. Only one will win the election, but all will have had the opportunity to participate.
And the power of the people will be manifest once again.
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