Post 2013-001

The United States of America is a country in which the populace appears to be increasingly divided between two political ideas.  It also appears that citizens are members of nearly equal sized groups depending on their political positions.  The debate is characterized by strong opinions and harsh rhetoric.

As a citizen, I am concerned about the consequences of this division.  I am unhappy with the bickering, and I would like to develop better insights into the future of my country.  At present, I am not optimistic.  I carefully listened to both sides and came to the conclusion that the stated goals of the two sides are not incompatible.  As such, there appear to be potential solutions that could satisfy both sides.  Unfortunately, when I pursued this approach with friends, I found that neither side was interested in these solutions.  Upon further probing, I discovered strongly desired “unstated” goals precluding the acceptance of these solutions.  The good news is that the majority of the populace may not agree with the unstated goals, precisely the reason they remain unstated.

I am primarily concerned that if one side prevails, the frustration of the other side is likely to be expressed through regrettable actions, further alienating each other with unfortunate consequences for my country and for the world.

In this web log (blog) I intend to characterize the debate from my perspective and to explore ideas for avoiding unfortunate consequences and regrettable actions.  In this way, I hope to evolve my perspective and to better articulate it.

Rather than creating abstract, academic posts, I choose to post positions and revelations to this blog based on a candidacy for public office currently having a low probability for success.

So, with this blog I am announcing my candidacy for President of the United States in the 2016 election.  I invite you to join me in this adventure.