DeliberateModerate
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How are you feeling right now regarding the political climate in the US?
In fact the political environment in the US is confused, divisive, and cynical; and issues often tend to gravitate to more extreme positions polarizing voters as well as candidates. Yet I refuse to believe this is hopeless. We all have some responsibility within our democracy to find ways to improve the political climate.
There are a couple key elements to improving the political environment. One is to find ways to communicate with each other on issues. This means reaching out and having conversations across beliefs, not just within the group that agrees with you. The other is to find ways to better understand the range of positions or options on any issue, and a means of more objectively understanding positions relative to others regarding each issue (see ABCs of Moderation below.)
To this end, I offer this discussion framework that works for moderates like myself (including a short book and even a game) which seeks not to promote any position or option, but instead to provide a mechanism for discussion and a framework for understanding across beliefs…
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The DeliberateModerate ABC's of Moderation:
• I am ‘A’ Moderate, vs
• I strive to ‘Be’ Moderate, vs
• I strive to ‘See’ what a true Deliberately Moderate position might be…
Given the importance of politics in American life, I am amazed by the
relative lack of definition or discussion regarding what it means to be
politically ‘moderate’. Google it and one can see some discussion and
opinion, but surprisingly little insight into its meaning or potential. Since
it is a topic that has fascinated me for decades, here I will attempt to
classify a couple classical moderate perspectives, as well as my proposed
option. I call these the ABC’s of moderation, where A & B are most
common, and C is something this site hopes you might consider.
Let’s begin with the type ‘A’ moderate. I refer to it as type ‘A’ because
some people simply choose to call themselves ‘A’ Moderate. They
declare that their position is moderate. And given the current state of
definition, who can argue with this? Maybe they do this because they like
the sound of the word moderate, or maybe they actually just prefer to call
their position ‘moderate’ because a more accurate term may seem less
appealing. Some conservatives even believe that conservative means
moderate, and thus non-conservative positions are therefore not
moderate or even extreme. A healthy share of people who call
themselves moderate are probably type ‘A’ moderates.
Then of course there are the type ‘B’ moderates. This approach typically
takes a look at where each of the major political parties are on an issue,
and they favor something between those positions. These folks strive to
‘Be’ Moderate relative to the opposing sides. This group is often
comfortable with some level of compromise between the party positions.
Many of those who refer to moderate probably have some form of this
approach in mind. Historically, these moderates have been in both
parties, though often many Independents also tend to use this approach.
So before moving to the ‘C’ moderates, please allow me a moment to
examine the reason I believe ‘B’ moderates miss an opportunity.
Let’s begin by first visualizing a playground with two groups of children
assembled on it. And as children are prone to doing, each group may
argue that they are on the somehow appropriate location on the
playground, while the other group is not. In this scenario, the ‘B’
moderates probably wander somewhere between the groups or possibly
just a little closer to the other group. But in this scenario it is hard to
measure much regarding why one spot on the playground may be more
extreme or moderate than any other spot, opinion drives the measure.
Now visualize a football field with endzones and yard markers. The same
two groups assemble somewhere on this field. This time one can
measure better where the groups are relative to the end zones (the
extremes) and 50-yard marker (moderate position). If the groups are such
that one group is somewhere on the left side of the field, and other is on
the right side of the field, moderate is indeed somewhere between them.
But if both groups are on either the right or left sides of the field, in fact
moderate is NOT between the groups relative to the end zones. This
becomes not only more informative with metrics, but also much more
interesting.
Thus I recognize type ‘C’ (See) Moderates. These moderates want to
‘see’ and truly understand what a moderate position might be for any
issue, and factor that into their decision regarding being moderate. To
this end I offer the ModerateMethodology©. This methodology suggests
that for any issue in order to understand a true moderate position, a
rational discussion can and should take place to describe true extremes,
presenting an opportunity to discuss what a true moderate position
between those extremes might look like. Years of experience leveraging
the technique of beginning any discussion of an issue first by taking a
moment to discuss what the true extremes for an issue might be has
convinced me that this approach can foster a more meaningful political
discussion on any issue between people, even those with those with
opposing views!
Once the extremes (end zones) are defined, discussions regarding
potential compromises from either extreme can be discussed. I find that
while often our political parties are somewhere on opposite sides of the
field on many issues, sometimes they can be on the same side of the field!
Sometimes they are very far apart possibly approaching extremes, but
often both are not at extremes – though at times they certainly can be. I
will state it here and frequently again in this site, this exercise is not
about declaring that any extreme, moderate or other position is superior
or inferior. That discussion can and will certainly take place on its own.
But this exercise, to the extent that it is done as honestly as possible,
provides a lot of insight regarding where individuals, candidates and
parties are on the field as it fosters clarity. But as valuable as this is,
realize that some prefer not to identify where they really are on the field.
