I’m Perpetually Confused

\

Here is a partial list of things that I’ll never understand:

  • How any human being can consciously drive into a crowd of other human beings, set a bomb, or fire a weapon with the intent to kill or maim innocent people. I’ll never understand how anyone can celebrate another person’s violent death.
  • Why discussing political issues with civility and respect is so difficult. A good many people find it impossible. Just read comments on news websites.
  • Why people think they are getting accurate information from sources such as Al Sharpton, Rush Limbaugh, George Soros, and the Koch brothers. These people have an agenda. More reliable conservative and liberal political commentators are available.
  • Physics (and most hard sciences).
  • How Kim Jung Un, who was educated in Switzerland, can be such a megalomaniac.
  • How anyone can continue supporting or defending President Trump but cannot offer reasons for doing so.
  • Why a college football coach is the highest paid state employee in most states. Their salaries are as high an $9 million per year. I love sports but this is absurd. I’d prefer making police officers, social workers, and teachers the highest paid state employees.
  • Why there are people who remain unconcerned about climate change although scientists overwhelmingly agree that it is real and that human behavior is largely responsible.
  • Why we think it is OK for Americans to pay more for medications than Canadians and people living in other countries.
  • How Congress can have an approval rating as low as 12% but continue passing unpopular legislation and refusing to find ways to overcome partisan squabbling.

Here are confusing things that take more space:

  • How politics can endanger programs such as the Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Because of partisan politics federal funding for CHIP ran out back in September and states are beginning to run out of money to support the program. EVEN THOUGH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS HISTORICALLY SUPPORT THE PROGRAM! In 2016 CHIP provided medical care to 8.9 million children whose parents could not afford health insurance. Yes, it is highly likely that children will go without healthcare unnecessarily because of Congressional partisan politics. The issue? Members of both parties want to extend CHIP funding until 2022 but can’t agree on how to pay for it. Just fund it!!
  • How conservative Christians can blame liberals for society’s decline when  80% of evangelicals supported a presidential candidate who was on his third wife, had bragged about cheating on the first two, bragged about molesting women, and more? I know he ran against Hillary Clinton, a flawed Democratic candidate, in the final election, but most evangelicals also supported him during the primaries against legitimate conservative candidates (one of whom I supported). How can they explain the fact that Alabama evangelicals  still supported Roy Moore for the vacant U.S. Senate position when evidence overwhelmingly indicates he molested or tried to molest young women when he was in his 30s and a county prosecutor? Exit polling indicated that 80% of white voters identifying themselves as “born again” or “evangelical” voted for Moore. I’m pretty certain their reaction would have been different if Roy Moore and Donald Trump had been Democrats. 

This is a short list but I need to go make a living. Feel free to use the “comment” section to add to the list.

5 thoughts on “I’m Perpetually Confused

  1. Thaler turns the basic supply and demand theory on its head. He shows how people make decisions which are not always rational and not in their best interest. Which goes against the basic theory of how supply and demand works. Thaler’s work helps to explain the same political decisions made as pointed out in your blog. His “nudge” theory is most interesting and should be used in the political arena to help people make rational decisions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.