If you’re the type of person who thinks the people who oppose your political viewpoints are evil and secretly hate America, this blog is probably not for you. But if you are someone who is distressed by the divisions in our country, remember: regardless of where you stand politically, the enemy isn’t conservatism or liberalism – it’s extremism. Nobody thinks of themselves as an extremist, but a lot of people think of themselves as loyalists, and in the end, they are pretty much the same thing.
The majority of America is pretty moderate. Most Americans favor freedom over uniformity and are pretty liberal in terms of social policy. However, the majority of Americans have more conservative views when it comes to business policies and free enterprise. Americans reject socialism as a concept but believe everyone should have access to food, housing, education, and healthcare. Most of us are not that far apart.
Of course, that’s not what we see in the media. All we see are the extremes on both sides. The media learned a while back that bad news outsells good news and that viewership is higher for news programs that get us angry and all worked up. If politics makes you feel angry, keep this in mind: The wealthiest and most powerful Americans tend to be politically independent often make political donations to candidates from BOTH parties. Hmmm, why do you think that is? I’ll tell you why. Because they care about themselves more than they do any candidate or political party – and they understand how the game is played.
My point isn’t that politics don’t matter and there aren’t things worth fighting for. Politics matter plenty, but being a political loyalist if you’re not a politician yourself is pretty lame. Even loyalist politicians are known in Washington DC as “ideologues”, and are often dismissed as fanatics by the real power players. Unfortunately, the super-skill that the many successful journalists and politicians share is their ability to turn their followers from thinking constituents into non-thinking fanatics…Don’t be a non-thinking fanatic! If you detest politicians who divide us, that’s a good start. A well-informed, independent-thinking electorate is the last thing most politicians want. Extremism, in all forms, is the enemy.
The top real estate sales coaches, like Mike Ferry, flat out tell their students that representing buyers is for losers. Driving buyers around to open houses, dealing with fickle lenders, and filling out multiple offer forms is a lot of work. To make matters worse, after doing all that work, you still might not get paid if your buyers' offers aren't accepted.
By definition, unintended consequences are the results of an action different from what was expected or planned. They are often referenced in relation to changes in policies. I have heard the term used for years, primarily related to government policies. Still, I didn’t realize until recently that much has been written on the subject, and most experts believe that there are three categories of unintended consequences:
I once read that sports are a universal language. Regardless of ethnicity or what language you speak, almost everyone speaks sports. No place has that been more evident than the Olympics, where every four years, we are moved by images of athletic rivals from around the world shaking hands and embracing each other in moving displays of sportsmanship.