Geir, thank you so much.
It really is nice to hear the perspective from the European side.
I worked with a Brit once, and I asked him what his thoughts were about proportional voting. The good part was that I was able to read his mind (his face that is), and I could see he was drawing a blank.
I could see that he had no good understanding how proportional voting functions, and then he said in reply that he didn’t like it (!). Naturally, he liked the system that he did know.
Americans are harder to read because not everything is transported to the face. The reason is that all these fifty states, the federal government, the two parties, the third-party interests (think lobbying), the local governments (sometimes organized in myriad ways) plus all societal pressures combined leave an overall understanding of society that has a good number of holes in it. What comes to the faces, of course, is naturally limited to just that what one thinks, feels and has experienced. If there is nothing there, it cannot be expressed in the face.
In many discussions, I have heard the argument “We cannot know that.” It is amazing how folks believe there are things humans cannot know about human society (I for one always have my opinions ready). What I am trying to state is that society is extremely compartmentalized and that also means there is an empty spot at the overall level. Thoughts about the whole are often incorporated in specific compartments (specializations) and there are not many thoughts going round about the whole as a whole.
There is a gap inside people that is generally avoided. In this society one has to be self-focused to get ahead. And when not self-focused, others will move ahead of you.
There is therefore not much big-picture thinking. Washington is far away, and it is easy to yell at the TV. The two political parties could as easily be two sports teams.
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Of course I am portraying society here a bit black and white (or red and blue if you wish), and one should forgive me for bringing some already well-used bathwater together with the baby. There are many things good and great here. One can experience quite a warm society here, too. It is just that once that gap comes around, this society is stone cold. Disassociation is not uncommon.
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Thank you for showing me more about Covid19 and its results, and you have a very good point; this is interesting. I will keep an eye out (and ask you to report to Medium when you are ready to share more of your further conclusions?).
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I had fun writing this article. Hopefully, one day, it will help some third party overcome the odds.
