Stop for a moment and, in your mind’s eye, view a 360° turn along the horizon. Focus on political and cultural happenings at the horizon of your view. Between where you are and the horizon is a lot of disruption as the events of our day fight over what the horizon will look like when we reach it. Interestingly, when you focus only on the horizon, there is not much to see. Things will be different when we reach the horizon.

When one thinks about it, we are living in the midst of a transition from one era to another – the kind we read about in history books like the age of exploration, the age of government by law, and the age of Enlightenment.

So many definitions of life are morphing. Less than fifty years ago, being a homosexual was not to be spoken to – a socially denied trait. Today, in most states, homosexual marriage and family structure are accepted. Economically, post WWII employment practices included union representation, company pensions, cost of living raises, and the ability for an employee to enjoy a genuine vacation without fear of losing their job in the meantime. There were poor practices like unequal pay for women and lack of profit sharing. All these employment practices are turbulent issues today. Are these issues changing beneath our feet? Don’t measure such things daily or even monthly. Take a year-end survey of what has changed. One will be surprised how much change and turbulence in cultural value has occurred.

As in an unkempt garden where some plants take advantage, some practices grew out of hand. Foremost is the liberation of corporations whereby, as markets became international, corporations escaped the moral accountabilities of any given constitution or protective requirements in behalf of citizens and the Planet itself. Further, the benefits and stability of jobs were undercut, not permitting the populace a share of the growth at the turn of the century. The US democracy morphed into an oligarchy that deflated the voting power necessary for a democracy to exist.

Current observations by writers and historians also contribute to a sense of change. Investors fear a collapse of the world economy – is this because cultural transition clouds what future economies will look like? The cybernetic industry pauses to identify the next big market – is this because consumer interests may change as the description of jobs changes, as the retail market changes, because the entrepreneurial resources are on hold waiting for a similar cultural shift?

Some showstoppers have emerged that also will facilitate change. The confrontation between global warming and the fossil fuel industry is just now beginning to deal with an issue that can’t be delayed by the normal drag of investment transition. Food availability, particularly seafood, has peaked. The weather plays a role in crop production – will more energetic weather patterns spurred by global warming continue? Does this portend a significant change in the way we must produce adequate food not only in the US but worldwide?

To make the issues a single dilemma, we are in a state of chaos. Yes, mariner uses that word often but our times reflect chaos – mathematically, socially, governmentally, ecologically, economically, and so on. Our government, along with all the other nations, is slow to change – perhaps too slow as the world spins into a new age. Governments, by their nature, protect power and influence. That is normally a good thing; government, if it does what it is supposed to do, acts as a ballast to stabilize society and all the elements that contribute to society.

But now, all of a sudden, power and influence balk at uncontrolled change. Nevertheless, the citizenry knows intuitively that something doesn’t work right. That something is that government and all that influences it must stop managing stability and begin steering change – easier to say than do.

This is why the 2016 election is a signal election. Obviously, both US political parties are in disarray as old platforms of policy collapse beneath them; incumbent politicians are unusually passé not understanding that their career definitions are increasingly invalid.

In spite of destructive gerrymandering, in spite of Citizens United, in spite of bastions of archaic prejudice – the American voter must persevere and change the government to a manager of change.

Ancient Mariner

It is probable that Mariner has harped too often about how important the 2016 election is. However, it is true. And in a few days Iowan readers will participate in phase I of the election process – the Iowa Caucus. Soon thereafter until July, all other states and territories will participate as well.

To let the mariner rest assured he has done all he can to help voters understand the importance of their vote and the issues that the voter is actually deciding, whether directly or by inference, the mariner provides the final countdown list for casting the voter’s most influential impact in the caucus/primary and in November.

1. Identify the key issue that you want to promote in this election. The broader it is, the better it is. For example, a narrow issue is whether to provide a path to citizenship for resident immigrants. Many voters stop here and cast an emotional opinion based on racism or on conscientious treatment. Mentally step up a level and think about cultural, historical and economic ramifications; how will the immigration issue help or hinder each of these; what subsequent issue may emerge; will that subsequent issue be on a path to improvement for our country?
2. What legislation, government attitude, or new action must be changed to help the key issue in number 1?
3. Quickly research each candidate on websites, news sources, and use your computer search engine to search the candidate’s history and future commitments that will affect you key issue. This task, though a quick one taking minutes to an hour, is not usually used. Instead, a voter usually listens to friends, talks with co-workers and family. In 2016, however, it is true information about the candidate, not gossip or news broadcasts that will magnify the accuracy and influence of your vote.
4. Disregard incumbency, appearance and popular personality. Too many popular, attractive, schmaltzy incompetents are elected on these characteristics alone. Avoid evaluations like “With which candidate would you feel more comfortable having dinner?” Instead, ask a similar question: “With which candidate would you feel more confident when you hand your key issue to them?”
5. Consider political ramifications. Any elected President will need at least one Congressional house to successfully adopt your issue; on the state level, which candidate will address gerrymandering, or infrastructure, or unions, or health care – all are local issues that will promote or defeat your key issue as the near future plays out.
6. Finally, ask yourself whether a candidate wants to promote new, modern solutions that will move the US and your key issue forward or whether the candidate berates current conditions with a desire to stabilize or remove ‘troublesome’ programs to return to solutions that have existed in the past and denies exploratory opportunities for uses of budget, civil service, and unanimity among classes, races, education – and perhaps your key issue.

The last point is the key issue for the mariner. The broadest level is addressing all our nation’s antiquated solutions that have not helped the nation to date and likely will block progress when progress is the answer. At this moment in US history, the only important question is “Will the nation and its population experience a fresh wind in the decade following 2016?”

Ancient Mariner

REPORT TO READERS

This is a quarterly report of transactions on iowa-mariner.com for the last ninety days. A reader in each city has read the mariner’s website at least once each month; the exception is Phoenix where the mariner’s family spent several days. Many readers read several posts on each visit.

Readers were from 15 nations:

United States (240 readers)             Belgium (1 reader)                Kenya (1 reader)

Brazil (14 readers)                            Canada (1 reader)                Cambodia (1 reader)

United Kingdom (2 readers)             Algeria (1 reader)                  Philippines (1 reader)

India (2 readers)                              Ecuador (1 reader)                 Sweden (1 reader)

Italy (2 readers)                               Indonesia (1 reader)               Venezuela (1 reader)

Readers were from the following cities¹

The highest daily access was 120 readers with an average of 87.

¹ 23% of readers were not included because they did not access the website three months in a row.

REFERENCE SECTION

The mariner has been searching for a reasonable voice to add to coverage of this strange 2016 campaign. There are many who qualify but the mariner has settled on Tavis Smiley. Smiley is a voice inadequately heard on mainstream news analysis (if one considers PBS not mainstream). Tavis is not a name in the book world; he has published none save a biography that was ghost-written. However, he has made short subject videos about many issues and hosts his own daily show on PBS as well as a weekend show. Periodically, Tavis Smiley may appear on CNN and MSNBC. To those who are unaware of his political/cultural contributions, his claim to fame is that he is married to Fredricka Whitfield, an anchor on CNN.

For example, as a pundit Smiley offers insights that dig into the rhetoric of Donald, he leaves the candidate looking like the empty box he may be. Tavis is African American; many of his topics reflect African American priorities but not out of context with the larger citizen issues of our time. He states as a matter of fact that Donald will carry “few if any black voters.”

Tavis Smiley is sensitive to the cultural crisis that exists in politics today and judges candidates on their intent actually to break the many roadblocks and step into the future. For sample shows and website, see:

Website: http://www.tavistalks.com/

PBS videos: http://www.pbs.org/show/tavis-smiley/

Smiley comments about campaign: http://www.bing.com/news/search?q=PBS+VIDEO+Tavis+Smiley&qpvt=pbs+video+tavis+smiley&FORM=EWRE

Ancient Mariner