Principle 29: Avoid Extremes
Political or otherwise
I have found you can be served very well in life by selecting the middle option when offered the Good-Better-Best choice of products. The Good often lacks features you really want, the Best costs the most and doesn’t give you that much more than the Better model, and the Better model makes you happy while saving you money.
Buying Apple products is like that: unless you have a specific, technical need for the extremes, the middle level is great for you and me. Buying hamburgers or popcorn or movie theater soda is the same: the middle option is the one you want.
A famous saying is ‘moderation in all things.’ The point of that saying is that:
The middle way is probably the one you want
Going to extremes in diet, social habits, or political movements is what often causes you friction or harm
So avoiding the extremes keeps you in balance
Society is like that sculpture. As long as people stick within the middle, everyone gets along.
Ah, but you say, not everyone is balanced! Some people are stuck on the extreme poor end of life, and others wallow in the extreme rich end of life.
True. So what does one do about that? You can volunteer to help those on the poor end, and you can petition those on the rich end (or try to get laws changed to address both groups), but what happens when that doesn’t result in change?
That’s where my youngest readers will be well ahead of me: time for revolution!
Now a revolution is the most extreme of political stances to take. You are literally throwing the whole set of choices out in order to sweep into power a new set of choices. Out goes Good-Better-Best and in comes Nice-Nicer-Nicest, or whatever.
That is correct, that sometimes is the only way to affect real social change. Overturn the chessboard and then start again. But you know what happens when you clear the chessboard? Someone puts the pieces back in place and a whole new game starts.
The French found that out after their 18th-century revolution. Down with the King soon turned into down with You, and Him, and That Guy Over There Who Looks at Me Funny! Yes, the aftermath of a revolution is frequently the purification stage, and chances are you aren’t pure enough to satisfy everyone, so off with your head too.
I’m not saying revolution won’t ever work, just that the generation who sees the revolution usually does not benefit. If you are going to do it, do it for your grandchildren. They might be the first ones to see any tangible benefit in their lives.
Now that we ditched the firebrands, let’s talk about normal politics, and there I have a very simple message:
What is extremism in politics? The smaller your group, the more extreme you probably are. If you think you are OK, and everyone else is a traitor, that’s a sign you are on the extreme edge.
The reality is most people in a country want basic things:
A decent life
A family
A job that pays the bills
Some recreation
Most people don’t think about politics other than every few years when it’s election season. The political junkies never figure this out until it’s too late, but most people have no idea who their representatives are, so yeah, they don’t focus the way you do, sorry.
But that’s mostly OK. It would be nice if people actually thought about issues rather than whose appearance they like best, but look at that bullet point list above. They are busy living their lives, and that’s fine. We want people in society to maintain their homes and do their jobs and raise their families in good ways.
Change is happening, by the way. Each week almost a million people worldwide are lifted out of extreme poverty. So while we have a long way to go, it’s not true that our current approach is an abject failure. We tend to grade on what we personally see or experience, but around the world lives are improving in ways we simply don’t see.
It can be tempting to be angry when your personal life circumstances are suffering while those around you are thriving. Chances are, however, you are getting angry while living a lifestyle most of the world dreams of having. Doesn’t help you, but it may put things into perspective. And when you find that better job (or a job), you can be less angry and more focused on what you do have rather than what you lack.
And if you are tempted to go to extremes in politics, just be careful that you don’t go so far out there that you think everyone else is worthy of death, or something. Get too close to the edge and you fall off:
You’d be amazed at how satisfied you can be by avoiding extremes. Those middle hamburgers are delicious.