Sometimes what isn't is more than what is

There is no question that we have some trouble dealing with diversity. Well, I know quite a few folks who do. When we hear the word, we generally think first off of different cultures and heritages, but that's just ethnic diversity. There are other differences between groups that may be more significant. We live in a pluralist society, whether we like it or not, and while we know we can't please all of the people all of the time, shouldn't we be trying at least to at least acknowledge most of the people, most of the time?

I just finished a book on quantum mechanics and consciousness in which the role of perception, naturally, played a very important role. Perception is that "simple" process by which we "see" (or experience, or recognize) things. But, as any optical illusion brings home very quickly, what we "see" is not always what is. For example, it appears that railroad tracks meet in the distance, but we know they are parallel and can't. But it looks like they do. This is a necessary illusion for it helps us orient ourselves in three-dimensional space. There are other illusions that are more subtle. Take the recent German election.

Merkel and the CDU didn't win a majority and they are now in search of a coalition partner. She, as head of the party with the strongest showing, is charged with trying to form a government. Any choice she makes will involve compromises of her own party's positions, so there will be a lot of discussion, internally, about what they are willing to give up in order to get things going. But, my question is, just what kind of a majority does she really have? In reality, none at all.

Take a step back from it all and think about it for a moment: Her party got just over 40% of the vote and the next biggest grouping is the SPD with just over 25%. Together that would constitute 65% majority in the Bundestag. Seems like a pretty strong showing, doesn't it? But, in reality, it's rather deceiving. Even in this constellation, the government would only sort of represent the 48% of the voting populace. That is, even best case, the true majority of Germans are not being represented at all, and in true modern political fashion will be ignored. When the government starts talking about what the people wants, or even what the voters want, then we need to keep this little fact in mind: whatever it is that Ms. Merkel and her cobbled-together motley crew represent is in no way reflective of the majority opinion.

Now, I know there any number of you true-blue democrats out there who will immediately claim that if you don't vote, you have no right to complain, but as we'll see next time, that's a non-argument; it's a politician's argument; that is, it simply refuses to bring one's perception into line with reality. It's sort of like believing the railroad tracks actually meet.