Ethical Imagination

I introduce the idea of the ethical imagination at the end of “The Daughters of Metis.”

There I write:  

If patriarchal dominion operates according to the masculine economy of violence, this other politics would need to articulate an androgynous economy of power in the Arendtian sense. It would require the cultivation of that transformative habit of political thinking we have traced through the shifting terrain that is metis [a kind of political wisdom]. Such a transformative habit of thinking involves a constellation of capacities that are difficult to sustain in the face of the disconcerting contingencies endemic to human political life. A condition for its possibility is ethical imagination, an ability to imagine one’s way into the position of the other so as to discern the most effective ways to address the legitimate concerns voiced there.

I also tried to articulate it further in the local newspaper, The Centre Daily Times:

Liberal Arts Education Helps Build Community

@CongressmanGT is Wrong on Guns

In Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district, it is depressing to have a Congressman unwilling to take even small steps to address the epidemic of gun violence in this country.

In response to my call to his office asking him to support efforts to limit the purchase of high capacity ammunition clips and assault weapons, @CongressmanGT wrote, in part:

There is no question that we have an obligation to protect our children. While some have suggested the solution is to limit purchases of ammunition and certain types of firearms, I believe that such responses will do little to alleviate the underlying problems. No matter how well intentioned, such proposals fail to address the root causes of mass violence, which has historically been acted out in many forms, not just through the use of firearms. Additionally, many of these proposals have the potential to infringe upon the Constitutional rights of law abiding citizens to own firearms. 

Although @CongressmanGT goes on to suggest some of the things that can be done—most of which involve focusing on our mental health care system, which we all can agree needs attention—he refuses to entertain the possibility that limiting access to assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips might be an important part of the solution to the epidemic of gun violence.

He does not base his position on data, but on his belief “that such responses will do little to alleviate the underlying problems.” But let’s not make policy based on uninformed belief.  Let’s find data that can inform our decisions.

Of course, since the 1990’s the NRA has systematically repressed research into the underlying causes of gun violence in order to prevent those interested in using scientific studies to inform gun policy from developing policies that would stem gun violence. The NRC, of course, would say that it is to prevent policy makers from denying citizens their rights to possess firearms.

Still, we live in the 21st, not the 18th century, and even if we reasonably allow hunters to own guns associated with sport, there is no compelling reason for common citizens to own assault weapons or to require high capacity ammunition clips.

How many more people need to be killed before politicians like @CongressmanGT consider taking such small, rational measures to control this epidemic of violence?

President Obama Delivers His Second Inaugural Address (by whitehouse)

There is value in term limits: When a President can speak without concern for re-election, eloquent truth can begin to be put into action. My hope on this notable day in which Obama’s second inaugural and the celebration of Martin Luther King converge, is that the beautiful words he articulated will find fulfillment in transformative action.

Source: youtube.com

One of the firmest conclusions of academic research into the behavior of Congress is that what motivates members first and foremost is winning elections. If individual members of Congress have little chance of losing their seats if they fail to compromise, there should be little reason to expect them to do so.

As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand? - NYTimes.com

It seems like we have a structural problem with the way our country governs itself.

Source: The New York Times

Narwhal wasn’t an app for a smartphone. It was the architecture of the company’s sophisticated data operation. Narwhal unified what Obama for America knew about voters, canvassers, event-goers, and phone-bankers, and it did it in real time. From the descriptions of the Romney camp’s software that were available then and now, Orca was not even in the same category as Narwhal. It was like touting the iPad as a Facebook killer, or comparing a GPS device to an engine. And besides, in the scheme of a campaign, a digitized strike list is cool, but it’s not, like, a gamechanger. It’s just a nice thing to have.

When the Nerds Go Marching In - Alexis C. Madrigal - The Atlantic

More on the diligence and technology behind Obama’s victory, and the hubris behind Romney’s defeat. 

Source: The Atlantic

But Obama must now defeat an especially virulent form of magical thinking, entrenched on Capitol Hill and elsewhere: that a difficulty delayed is a difficulty allayed. Part of American exceptionalism is that, historically, this country has been the exceptional polluter and is therefore exceptionally responsible for leading the effort to heal the planet. It will be a colossal task, enlisting science, engineering, technology, regulation, legislation, and persuasion.

David Remnick: Obama and Global Warming : The New Yorker

It is time to turn our attention in earnest to the realities of global warming.

Source: newyorker.com

Another source that closely studied the Obama campaigns GOTV efforts as compared to ORCA said bluntly that “the Obama training manuals made ORCA look like a drunken monkey slapped together a powerpoint” adding that we must duplicate and improve what they accomplished to have any hope for the 2014 & 2016 ground game.

Campaign Sources: The Romney Campaign was a Consultant Con Job | RedState

Continuing to follow the ORCA saga. This is rich.

Source: redstate.com

That president is the pivotal figure in what must be one of the most progressive nights in American history, and arguably the most progressive night in American history in some 40 years.

Hippies Wander Into the Lions’ Den, Maul Lions - Atlantic Mobile

If Tuesday was one of the most progressive nights in the last 40 years of American history, it was not by punching, but by organizing and getting out the vote.

May 2014 be yet more progressive still. Stay organized, stay engaged.

Source: The Atlantic

On November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony cast a ballot in the presidential election, though women at the time were prohibited from doing so. Two weeks later, she was arrested, and the following year, she was found guilty of illegal voting. It would take another 50 years until the Nineteenth Amendment, passed in 1920, would grant women nationwide the right to vote.

Susan B. Anthony voted on this date in 1872, leading to her arrest. - ReadWriteThink

Yet another reason to get out and vote tomorrow. Don’t take for granted what Susan B. Anthony and many others fought to earn.

Source: readwritethink.org

It’s up to the volunteers. It’s up to somebody knocking on a door. It’s up to somebody making a phone call. It’s up to somebody talking to their mom or their dad, or their wife or their husband, or grandma or grandpa. And that’s how democracy is supposed to be,” the president added, his eyes scanning the sea of onlookers. “It’s up to you! You’ve got the power.
In Virginia Finale, Obama Waxes Nostalgic | RealClearPolitics

Source: realclearpolitics.com

I’ve been a First Lady of the State. I have seen what happens to people’s lives if they don’t get a proper education. And we know the answers to that. The charter schools have provided the answers. The teachers’ unions are preventing those things from happening, from bringing real change to our educational system. We need to throw out the system.” — Ann Romney

Ann Romney: We Need To ‘Throw Out’ The Public Education System | ThinkProgress

Continuing with today’s theme regarding the Republican political strategy: run for office so you can dismantle the system.

Source: thinkprogress.org