Hi. I’m Stephanie. I’m a mom, wife, teacher, scientist, researcher, analyst, thinker, and a voracious consumer of information. I’m scared for the future of our democracy, and the future of the human race. We, the People, are making choices that harm ourselves and our future, and I feel compelled to help change our direction. This blog is my contribution toward improving our collective decision-making.

In the 21st century we have all of human knowledge at the tips of our fingers, and yet, we’re more divided than ever. In fact, having so much information so easily available to us, may actually be the problem. We have families, jobs, hobbies, TV, and social media, so most people simply don’t have the time – and let’s be honest, the interest – to gain a full understanding of the issues that we face as a nation, and a species. And yet, we are the ones in charge. In the United States it’s our civic responsibility to self-govern. We must hire qualified representatives to do the job of governing us according to the laws we have agreed upon.

But if we don’t understand the job, how can we pick the right person to do that job?

Too much information

There are 195 countries and nearly 8 billion people in this world. Understanding just our nation’s most clear and pressing issues is a full time job; never mind trying to understand the infinity of smaller, less clear domestic issues that nonetheless have far-reaching impacts. Move out to the complex global web of international relationships, and all but the most expert experts become confounded.

Our beautiful brains therefore have no choice but to take shortcuts, exactly as they are wired to do (Why Are We the Way We Are?). Our brains are perfectly adapted to make quick decisions based on limited information. Think: fresh large footprints and a warm pile of scat = danger ahead. Run!

But in the modern world, quick decisions based on limited information might be the end of us. Very few choices we can make for ourselves and our species are based on limited information. Not anymore. If anything, there’s too much information, at least too much for our puny minds to handle while figuring out how to get to work and pick up the kids while the car is in the shop. And Junior’s game is this weekend, school project next week, and the spouse’s business trip! Aging parents’ doctor appointments, boss wants to rethink the project design, rent is going up next month. Who even has time to understand the inverted yield curve or the dangers of fine particle pollution?

Shortcuts

Because our brains must sift through so much information, we depend on shortcuts that our brains have adapted over millions of years. We have our faith, communities, families, clubs, teams, and parties. Without too much effort, we know what we want as individuals, at least broadly. So then we just find the group that wants the same things, and do what they do. Voila! It’s a strategy as old as humanity. Every world political party or religious ideology is supported in this way.

“…we just find the group that wants the same things, and do what they do. Voila! It’s a strategy as old as humanity. Every world political party or religious ideology is supported in this way.”

We all do it. I want government to stay out of my business and their hands off my money, so I’m a Republican. I think we should have almost zero government at all, few to zero regulations, and complete capitalism, so I’m a Libertarian. I want to have fairness, health, and the same rights for everyone, so I’m a Democrat. None of the rest of that stuff matters if the Earth dies, so I’m Green.

But this method of decision-making has, over time, resulted in group vs. group, us vs. them; with We, the People, making choices for ourselves and society based on our shortcuts: our group associations (see: Us vs. Them). NOT based on the validity or robustness of information; NOT based on a body of evidence that we can all observe; NOT based on reason, logic, and data. We know we are right because “they” want to destroy your rights, your freedom, your safety.

Here are the links to the four party platforms I referred to above.

Blame

If you have not looked at your party’s platform lately (or ever), you should give it a try. But if you only read yours, you’re missing the point. You should read them all. Or at the very least, the big two. Why? Because you might be disgusted. Too often the party blames the other one: “they” are screwing it up for you, but “we” have your back. Why does a party platform even mention any other party? If this is what we are about, why even mention the other groups?

Here’s my opinion: A good deal of the party system, especially the big two, are now also about opposition. They sometimes have clear plans, but sometimes their plan is to scare you away from the other side. My goal on this website is to be as non-partisan as I can, so I will refrain from further judgement, and simply encourage you to take a look. You might be surprised at who plays the blame game the loudest. To be clear, actions have results, there is always a responsible party, and therefore fault is real. But blame is not a solution.

The point? Blaming “them” isn’t helping ANY of us.

We mostly want the same things

One other big thing you might take away from reading these is that all the groups mostly want the same thing. When you actually read through their policy beliefs and proposals, you find that they are closely related. And it turns out this is true about humanity in general. When we ignore our group associations for a few minutes and actually listen to each other, we find out we pretty much want the same things.

When we ignore our group associations for a few minutes and actually listen to each other, we find out we pretty much want the same things.

If we let our brain shortcuts tell us what to “believe”, then who are we, anyway? Why can’t I be pro-life AND want affordable healthcare? Why can’t I expect my country to secure my guns AND fight climate change? Why can’t my government support our families and neighbors in need AND have a robust economy with a balanced budget? None of these ideas are mutually exclusive, and yet our (mostly) two-party system says they are.

We have big, immediate, global problems, and we need ALL of the possible solutions that we can get. Blaming our problems on “them” simply doesn’t help.

The kinds of problems we have to tackle as a people are complex, long-term, expensive, and extinction-level. The ancient evils of money and power continue to thwart our best intentions at every turn. The only people who can make it better are you and me. When we put our collective minds together, humanity can achieve anything.

The Point

We MUST break the cycle of us vs. them. “They” are not evil, “they” are humans, too. “They” have moms, and spouses, and children, and jobs, and health problems, and money problems. “They” worry about how to pay the bills, if their job is secure, if they can really afford to eat out so often. “They” want a safe world for their children, neighbors they can trust, and a stable predictable future.

There IS such thing as objective truth and observable fact. Our amazing human brains have conceived of a self-correcting construct for understanding that has allowed us to dominate the planet and beyond. Scientific thinking is the most effective method for understanding the world, for finding common truth.

We have more in common than we think. Political parties don’t really represent us. When we decide we’re all on the same team, and use the tenets of science – the most powerful tool of human understanding – we CAN do better.

We have to consider the Big Picture. There is so much information, so much noise, and so many people willing to mislead us for their own ends that it becomes incredibly difficult to see the forest for the trees. Not only must we make good choices for ourselves in the immediate future, we have to consider the long term consequences of those decisions we make. Humanity is just as fragile as any other animal on our planet – maybe more so because of our incredibly large and resource-hungry population – and we are dependent on the fragile natural systems that provide us with food and resources. The choices humanity makes today will affect our species and our planet long after we individuals are gone.

It’s up to us. You and me. No one will do this for us. There is no example in all of human history where forcible domination by one group over another brought peace and prosperity. But do you know what history does show is effective? Working together. Time after time, working together, assuming the best in each other, and pooling our ideas, intellect, ingenuity, and human spirit. These are the things that work. This is how we help ourselves.

Join me as I attempt to use scientific thinking to cut through partisanship and plan for the longevity of our species. Let’s see what is possible when we use evidence and reason to advance ideas that are good for all of us.