If this goes on, we could see some weird stuff:
NPR on "The Big Sort," as people pick up and move to areas where they'll be among folks who share their politics. Red and Blue, Left and Right, lots of people are doing it.
And then,
"COVID Is More Like Smoking." You can greatly limit the harm it does to you by changing your behavior. Not everyone is willing to do so.
Combined, we could eventually see some regions where COVID-19 is far more widespread, and others where it isn't.
I think we're better off purple. Annoying though it can be.
I've always wondered if they are putting me on by talking about this left-of-aisle and right-of-aisle in Congress nonsense. Do they really do that? If so, I've a suggestion: Seat legislators as they seated students when I was in grade school - alphabetically. Shake up the little islands of like-minded people to encourage more/better dialogue among the legislators. Yes, as irritating as it can be, purple is to be preferred when it comes to a group making wise decisions.
ReplyDeleteTo my mild surprise, they do sit that way. If you enter either chamber for the back, Democrats are no the left and Republicans on the right. In the Senate, they shuffle their desks around so the main aisle divides them! If the Senate is lopsided, so is the aisle.
ReplyDeleteIf it were up to me, I'd make them sit together by State. But I suppose they'd be peering over one another's shoulders and spatting a lot. That might be an improvement; maybe they could get it out of their systems in small fights and then manage to be serious about the important stuff.
We picked the left/right divide up from the French Revolution; in the National Assembly of 1789, supporters of the King sat on the president's right and supporters of the Revolution sat to the president's left. Subsequent French terminology is confusing and French politics are still pretty mysterious, at least to me. (People who get to pick have often been offered a choice between "revolting" or "authoritarian" ever since.)
"...if you enter either chamber from the back...." I meant.
ReplyDeleteI read right over that part of the sentence, getting your meaning rather than the precise words. My mind is either flexible or deluded ; )
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