What is Political Physics?

Good questions. Open source answers within certain global variables.

Here's the long answer. I guess I should let you in on where I'm at after many months here. So far, Caleb and I have tried to offer some progressive ideas as well as shine a light on corporate and government corruption or hypocrisy wherever we see it without being meanspirited, even if occasionally sarcastic. I believe we both try to report on what matters to us, like anyone who writes for the public. It's all an experiment.

I would not characterize Political Physics as left or right, since these terms are obsolete. I believe we're all "conservative" AND "liberal" in various sectors of our reality. I must admit I don't like mean people. I don't believe personal insults or gratuitious nastiness are conducive to finding solutions to the problems that confront us. I'm sure Caleb will offer his own take on some of what your questions open up for discussion.

We took this next step in the evolution of Political Physics to provide a forum for various voices that may be drowned out by the screaming memes of outworn political views. There are reasonable and thoughtful people on Kos as well as LGF who are getting shouted down or shunned by the extremists in both camps, and not just on those sites. We also found that many diarists over at Kos were writing incredible stuff, but getting bumped off the front page within minutes. Good work, whether research or writing, deserves more than 15 minutes of notice. I would like to have all kinds of solutions put forth here. Hopefully, the blogosphere hasn't become so "brand identified" that there is no more space for a place to hang out with reasonable people. And maybe have a laugh once in a while.

That said, for me the thing is that there are many factors in our realities, and we are at a larger evolutionary crisis as part of an array of life forms affected by the decisions we're making. I've always felt that the political, philosophical, scientific, artistic, social, environmental, economic, educational, and other areas of our life are interrelated, and we need to focus on how to make our world a better place, however that itch needs scratching. Maybe that's why my articles are all over the map.

And wouldn't it be great if we could actually achieve an "open-source" community blog that didn't need "controlling?" Awesome idea. As for the unclean dishes? Well, I suppose we clean the ones that need to be cleaned, repair the ones that are cracked but usable, and use the ones broken beyond repair to do tile accents in the garden. "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe..."

Keep smilin, pyrrho.

"If not here, where? If not now, when?"

1. I don't want to, too-broadly define what Political Physics is or isn't. That said it is more or less a place to come and cut the BS - meaning that we're trying to break free of the ridiculous dichotomies that the national dialogue is taking place in. We're more interested in real, long-term, long-lasting change than we are 'getting Senator X who only votes for 35% of the bat-shit stuff elected' (though I'm sure as the election seasons come around, there'll be plenty of opinions and endorsements). We identify with the political parties of the world as being tools of humanity, not ends to themselves.

2. Political Physics has from time to time has already had a small place on the political spectrum. We've been linked to by the Poorman and This Modern World before to name a few. Now that we've opened things up to all comers, we're hoping that Political Physics will have many different places on the political spectrum.

3. Conservatives are welcome, certainly. Anyone, no matter what their persuasion is welcome and expected to expound upon their own assertions, beliefs, etc (unless they are being CONSCIOUSLY hateful or destructive). We are not perfected beings ourselves and we don't expect everyone coming here to be perfect either. Given that, our hope is that most Political Physics contributors will be flexible enough to give the room necessary for themselves and/or others to listen, evaluate, and even (possibly) change their mind over a period of time. My guess is that over a period of time certain people will create smaller circles of friends here (just like in life), but that they won't let the smaller areas of disagreement take away from the larger areas of similarity. I don't think it's utopian to believe that building a more diverse community than Dkos or Little Green Footballs is possible.

4. Yes, Alice realizes that none of the dishes are clean. And she's totally pissed that the Mad Hatter's (the repubs) and the White Rabbit's (the dems) non-sensical bickering and consumption is only getting her further behind. :-)

5. Open source definitely means that community gets more control of things. I would like to be as little involved with things as possible (in terms of policing things). I would prefer to put any actions that would restrict people/issues up to some kind of democratic process/vote (in the case of malicious/coordinated attacks against the site and/or individuals). This could probably use some more fleshing out (preferably with help).

"We identify with the political parties of the world as being tools of humanity, not ends to themselves."

fantastic!

good luck to us all then.

"Given that, our hope is that most Political Physics contributors will be flexible enough to give the room necessary for themselves and/or others to listen, evaluate, and even (possibly) change their mind over a period of time."

fantastic². This is going to be interesting. The spread first of blogging... "I ate toast this morning" is a substrate... a foundation upon which blogging justifies itself by asserting "I don't have to justify myself... these are my personal thought, they are my expression... they don't justify their value by the value you take out of them, but by what I put in". Then the political blogs are another layer, "this is my expression and this is how I vote" is better (more broadly) justified because it is part of the social thought process... adding the ability to fundraise and the establishment pays attention, the ability to generate flak for the press gets the press' attention (they are conditioned to react to flak).

What you have described is another level of justification... the refinement of that thought process from the immediate into the long term. When it succeeds (who knows the timing... but eventually, it will come... maybe it's here right now in this site), it will represent a new kind of learning which is the only real kind of learning, self-education. People recieving conditioning and support for being flexible enough to adjust their positions. People are weary of being manipulated, this is why they resist learning, because so often they don't have a chance to learn but instead are being tempted to fall for manipulations instead. The right virtual community could help to condition people to feed their broader selves with personal knowledge.

short version: I love your goals... good luck! I think of things like this, but I'm not a good marketer. I write things and don't share them... because of it's effect on my, it's a way to process my own ideas. And yet critical mass is important. So on the one hand I won't probably base my valuation of this or any site on it's traffic, but on the other hand we do need traffic for such efforts to be as successful as they ought to be... so it's good you think about it!

This latter side of things is where I am learning most. I've developed a philosophy and view of the world to accomodate communities that could think much as you have described, beyond "liberal/conservative", which can incorporate the long run again, thinking in increments of time larger than a month, year, or even larger than a decade (no! impossible! surely the sun will burn up by then! :), but in order to apply it, I have to leave my cave and my mountain of solitude, and care if I get read. This has happened to me already in my professional life. I used to loath marketers, and for good reason, but I've tried my own business, I've grown, and now I realize they exist exactly for me! I need them. I have no aptitude in that specialty and it's very important, it's how ideas (or even just good products) spread. That they can be good at spreading bad ideas and products isn't really their fault... we just need to give better things to spread.

Also, I need to stop putting apostrophes in possessive "its".

cheers.

-pyrrho

PS: and for it all to be done with a sense of humor... that's important too... I found both your answers very uplifting... more than I expected in fact. Good luck and I'll keep checking in. Cheers.

Thank Robert and Caleb for this site. I have always wanted to voice my opinions and beliefs but never had a place to do it, SOOOOO Thanks a lot you 2. I dont always understand the conversations in here but I try..
I too do not like mean spirited people and I request that if they are going to be at this site please be respectful of everyone here and especially Caleb and Robert, it's the right thing to do.
My life feels a lot like Alice's (the dishes are never clean). I am also sometimes confused about what I want in a political future, So here is what I think we need. We need World Peace, Love our neighbors (If we can lol), Children need at least 1 parent at home with them for guidance if they can afford to do this (they are our future). And for people that are in Office,
They are leaders so they need to act and do so appropriately, not abuse the power that we gave them, they should get into office with our vote and not steal it. We may need to go back to the basics and start over. Let's get Mother Earth cleaned up so that our next generations can live a good and healthy life. I heard the other day that some Babies' umbilical cords have over 200 contaminants in them so listen up people this is a warning.
Please use your sense of humor when talking on this site, it's alot of fun, so thanks again.

P.S. Smile, It makes people wonder what you've been up to.

this old comment stream would reactivate? Still, since we welcome everyone's contributions, thanks to all who participate. This is an experiment in community.

"If not here, where? If not now, when?"

Caleb and Robert. Happy New Year, may this year bring you both everything you hope or wish for. Hugs to you......

for the site. To me the separation of politics and metaphysics is arbitary and artificial. For me personally my political beliefs and actions are driven by my spiritual beliefs. I am encouraged by the predictions of Sir Robert regarding the coming year. Let's all visualize Whirled Peas!
dcu

I got one of those ridiculous scam emails today that begged for a response, so I turned some email crap into political fertilizer, and got a nice sense of poetic justice, by "scamming" a scammer!

It seems that a "Mr Yang" from Hong Kong needed my help. He claimed to be a banker, whose client was a deceased Iraqi General. He needed someone to park $24.5 million for him, so he offered me a 40% cut to be his next of kin.

Here's what I wrote back:

Mr Yang,

I would be happy to help you with your dilema. I am a capable businessman, with powerful connections, and I would be most pleased to assist you in your time of need, but I want 50%, unless you would like to come hunting with me instead...I am really good with a shotgun, but I can't seem to find hunting partners lately, so I would concede to your orginal offer of 40% for me, if you would agree to come and hunt with me at a South Texas ranch, owned by a friend.

Here is my contact information:

Name: Dick Cheney

Occupation: Vice-President and avid hunter

Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (Dubya will make sure I get it, if you just mark it, "About LOTS of Money: Forward to Mr. Cheney." Dubya likes that sort of thing...makes him feel important.)

Bank Account Number: Oh...come on now...I've been running tax-payer-funded scams all my professional life...you'll have to do better than that!

Sincerely,

DICK

PS: I've attached my pictures taken at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, just in case you'd like to see how I pass my time, while I'm not assisting the Bush administration in the oversight of OUR concentration camps in Eastern Europe. History is a funny thing, you know, how it repeats itself. You don't think we're behaving like fascists over here in America, do you? Oh....what do I care?....just send me the MONEY!!!

Welcome back. What you posted is really funny. I just hope that in emailing them back you don't wind up being a "beard" for ten thousand spam letters sent through your address. I learned a while ago that many want you to respond, as then they know your email is a good address, and hell begins. I found out when I started receiving letters back that I never sent, designated as spam, from all kinds of other places and people I never heard of. While it's tempting to send them something, I would advise other ways to monkeywrench than sending them something from an address you may want to use in the future.

"If not here, where? If not now, when?"