Way back when I was in elementary school I remember a teacher saying that the difference between humans and other animals was that humans were rational.

Being an overly-observant kid I was a bit skeptical of that comment.

That skepticism grew as I got older and over the last 15+ years has grown at warp speed.

Paralleling the growth of my skepticism has been research into the intelligence and rational actions of a multitude of animals.

Only two months into 2020 and it seems the world’s gone nuts.

Not just the problems/panic/hype/cons being driven by Covid-19, but all kinds of crazy happenings around the world, including the US, with a crazy election year that seems even crazier than usual.

Very little ‘rational’ anywhere in the mix.

Animals, from insects to primates, are far more rational.

Any animal living in a group needs to make decisions as a group, too. Even when they don’t agree with their companions, animals rely on one another for protection or help finding food. So they have to find ways to reach consensus about what the group should do next, or where it should live. While they may not conduct continent-spanning electoral contests like this coming Super Tuesday, species ranging from primates all the way to insects have methods for finding agreement that are surprisingly democratic.

Yet more proof that my long-ago teacher got it wrong.

Image credit: Marco Verch/trendingtopics

Yesterday was election day of course and it was a doozie. I live in Florida and have found that it can be a bizarre state to reside in when it comes to election time.

Like most states there is a rural and urban voting divide. However, this state seems to be fairly even on that split and that results in extremely close elections.

I looked at past data for the state and it looks like 75% of eligible voters vote in the general election and around 50% vote in midterms. I am not sure what drives those numbers, but the election always comes down to less than 100,000 vote difference.

In Florida we are inundated with ads, money and agendas. I am registered independent (thinking it would spare me from phone calls, which it didn’t) and I received calls from campaigns, dozens of text messages and countless mailers.

I tend to tune it all out. I go search the info on the candidates and make a rational decision well before the election. However, I have found that Florida is anything but rational.

Depending on your leanings you believe your  guns will be taken, socialist are getting elected, migrants are being rounded up and so on. It seems that only the extreme version of both parties is presented to the public. What is funny though is when you actually listen to the candidates themselves they all seem fairly rational.

What drives us to our political camps? I know for me it was family initially; they all voted a certain way and so did I.

As I have come into my own I have learned to evaluate a candidate on their merits. Not by party or ads. Work and friends are another way. I am in tech and in an urban center. Most of my population is more left. As a result I tend to think most feel the same way. I could not be more wrong. Even in my county when you go to different areas you see a change in mentality.

Where else do you find the influence comes from? Religion and faith can drive it. Education of course. Income. I don’t have one answer but it’s obvious that it’s a cultural driver.

Now that the election is over maybe we can reach across the fence and begin mending it.

We are all in this together and have different ideas on how to get things done, but we gave value as humans.

Kindness goes a long way.

Image credit: Hiking Artist

I rarely write about politics, but it’s that time of year; I live on the border between two states and have to listen to political ads from both. So please, if this post offends you accept my apologies and wield your delete key.

My feelings are driven by the smugness I see across the political spectrum irregardless of parties and beliefs.

Smugness regarding the rarity of corruption in the US vs. its prevalence in other countries.

The way I see it, corruption in the US is rare primarily because it’s been legalized in the form of lobbying and PACs.

Lobbying has long influenced legislation, but as of 2010, when the Supreme Court effectively eliminated restrictions on outside groups, elections themselves went up for sale.

If you doubt me look no farther than the Americans for Prosperity, owned and run by the Koch brothers, which will spend at least $125 million this year, and the growth of super PACs overall.

In 2000, outside groups spent $52 million on campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. By 2012, that number had increased to $1 billion. (…) In 2014, as of early October, when the campaigns

had yet to do their big final pushes, overall spending was already more than $444 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Roughly $231 million was from the parties and their congressional committees, the rest from outside spending. The biggest chunk of that by far came from super PACs — more than $196 million.

What each of these wealthy individuals have in common is passion, but unbridled passion is the hallmark of the fanatic—and fanaticism paves the road to a closed mind—one that is evidenced by fear, hate and bigotry.

Legal corruption or not, voting is important—if for no other reason than not voting precludes your right to complain.

Or, as my mom used to say when faced with two bad choices, just “hold your nose” and vote against X as opposed to for Y.

And you can avoid the corruption by ignoring ads, whether pro or con, and evaluating candidates and issues in a holistic and pragmatic way that looks at what makes the most long-term sense.

Flickr image credit: DonkeyHotey

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