Howard Dean and Systems Theory...interesting indeed

Comadreja

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Fri Feb-13-04 12:50 AM
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Howard Dean and Systems Theory...interesting indeed

From a Deaniac Blogger;

A friend from grad school and I were discussing the Dean rise and fall, and
started looking at the whole thing from the standpoint of Systems Theory.
Systems Theory says that natural systems, including human groups (like the
U.S. for one example) behave in set ways. One characteristic you might have
heard of is homeostasis, for instance.
Anyways, we started talking about Dean, Bush, and the late surge of Kerry. I
noted two things: Dean's fall seemed a bit mirrored to me by a sudden
downturn in Bush's polling numbers. And secondly, Kerry has supplanted Dean
as the front-runner, but I don't think he did it as the "anti-Dean".
So here is my hypothesis - Dean's rise was as a balance to an extreme
movement on Bush's part. I'm not sure what all characteristics, or sets of
polarities this is about altogether, but the one that came up for me was
truth/honesty. I've always been wary of what Bush said. But, for a long time
what he said could only hypothetically be said to be a lie. We couldn't know
for certain what the results of the tax cut would be. We wouldn't know for
certain there were no WMD's in Iraq until we got in. I had MY expert
opinions on both of those, but the core of America seemed to say "OK, we'll
trust you for a little while". But over the last 12 months it has gotten
clearer and clearer that he is lying. People without jobs know that the
economy sucks. People who watch the news and listen to David Kay say there
are no WMD's in Iraq now KNOW that the President just can't seem to give up
on this lie. He even says things with an odd smirk, at times at which it
seems horrendously inappropriate.
And as the one side of the polarity grows in energy, the other side,
truth/honesty grows in balance, and is embodied in the person of Howard
Dean. I think if he had not stepped forward, somehow someone else would
have. It would have had to happen. Gov. Dean struck me as the most honest
politician I had heard. He told me, and the America public, truthes. Even if
we didn't want to hear them. Many did want to hear them (like me). The truth
is strong, and addictive. That is why we aren't Dean supporters, we are
Deaniacs.
Now, having endured the last month, with Dean dropping, Kerry rising, and
Kerry winning (all on what seems to be little substance at all), I've come
to the conclusion that Kerry is not the anti-Dean. No Democrat ever was
going to be. The anti-Dean was there all along, George W. Bush. And Dean was
the anti-Bush. Dean has come in and spoke the truth to power that has taken
the legs out of Bush (finally!). But I think the American public as a whole
is uncomfortable with this level of truth-telling. A good friend of mine, a
very wise woman, says "truth is a dish most people never develop a taste
for". And that is why I think we are seeing the emergence of a center
between Bush and Dean - namely Kerry.
Kerry says a lot of words. Speaks rhetoric, makes promises. He speaks like
we like our politicians to speak. It is "spin", that fuzzy ground between
lies and truth. Bill Clinton was excellent at it. Make us feel good enough
to just go about our daily business, don't outright lie to us, just market
it so we feel OK about things. You know, how Kellogg's says that Froot Loops
is part of "this healthy breakfast" while pointing to it surrounded by a
grapefruit and milk. They don't say "Froot Loops is health food for your
kids". That would be going too far. Sort of like Bush does.
Anyway, that is my premise. We Deaniacs like truthtelling just a bit more
than the average American. It is not part of our culture to be so honest, or
so sincere. That is why you've heard so many press people calling him "odd"
or "strange". I think it's a sad commentary on our culture, but at least in
my mind it explains why this has all been happening.