Weekly Technetic #35: Election

In the United States, the midterm elections are upon us. As I've stated before, technetism is not a political ideology. You can be a technetic conservative, a technetic liberal, or just about anything in between. True, the tenets of our philosophy do stand in opposition to the fringes of both ends of the political spectrum—technetism is incompatible with communism, for example, because of our emphasis on individual experience—but the vast majority of people, no matter their political stripe, should find no problem with our beliefs.

Instead of worrying about who will get your vote, then, we need to look forward to giving that vote in the first place. Too many people don't even bother. For some, it's because of disillusionment: with over 200 million voters in the country, one ballot almost certainly isn't going to change anything, so why bother in the first place? Worse, the massive fraud of the 2020 election has shown that even when you do vote, it may not be counted.

Technetism emphasizes a concentric-circle approach to looking at the world. Start with the individual, the self. You know what you believe, where you stand on the issues. That's part of the continuous self-reflection process we encourage for all technetics. And if you aren't there yet, now is a good time to start looking within. If you don't know who you are, how you can judge the platforms of those who seek to represent you?

Next is the family, and here the goal is to find common ground. Many families, especially the larger extended families common in rural parts of the US, tend to have a majority view on issues. This comes from our shared experience; the social and cultural environment in which we were raised is very likely the same as that of our siblings, our aunts and uncles, our cousins and the like. But there are always those who buck the trend, and the technetic should be willing to reach out to them, to understand why they have taken the stances they chose.

We may move outward as far as we like, but the next step is the community, and here we can stop. While the maxim is that all politics is national, that just isn't true. As far as the individual and family are concerned, more important decisions are made locally, in our cities, counties, and states. Yet too many people can't name their city commissioners, their county executives, or their state representatives.

A representative government is the most successful form. Time has proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt. Democracy falls victim to the tyranny of the majority, and essentially every other form of government devolves into autocracy or oligarchy. But representation only works if we participate. If we run for office, if we get engaged with candidates, if we vote for those we know have our best interests at heart, then our Republic will thrive. It will become more technetic while allowing us the opportunity to do the same.

If, on the other hand, we treat local elections with disdain, if we look at the parties instead of the people, then we no longer have a republic at all. We have an aristocracy choosing which figureheads announce their mandates. That is not the kind of environment in which an individualistic philosophy can thrive. For your own sake, then, choose wisely.