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Political Factions: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Psychiatrists usually equate good mental health in decision making with proper and prudent understanding of the decision (s) required, knowledge of the decision (s) complexity, discussions with confidents and above all honest rational thinking. Only then psychiatrists say can the proper decision (s) be made. Notice however that most elected officials nowadays decision making are based on range of the moment expediency, whim, intuition and/or false reasoning. For example, if a bridge is to be built or replaced in your town, do elected officials seek out the most qualified (and not necessarily the cheapest) construction companies to perform such a complex time consuming task,or is the hiring based on favors, long standing friendships or in the extreme, promises of some method (not necessarily money) of “payback?” In small towns (and in some larger cities) elected officials are often voted into office by “factions.” A faction is a well organized group of voters who dedicate themselves and their votes to one specific candidate. Factions are not illegal but they (in extreme cases) may interfere with the voting process by totally blocking out oppositional voting. If the town is small enough (by average city standards) only two factions may exist. This means that faction candidates are voted into office over and over, one after another, making many qualified persons without a change (or factions) to ever become elected. In this example towns of this sort find themselves in a quandary when nothing seems to improve or even modest improvements in the life of the town citizens in question can advance. Why? Well, it makes sense if you owe your election to a faction, elected officials will do nothing to embarrass, mock or rule against their particular faction for fear of losing their support. Now, what is the result of faction voting.? But first I don’t want anyone to get the idea that all political factions are bad. They are not. Electoral factions can be correctly judged by their ideas, aspirations and goals. For instance a faction can be formed to elect a good official against one that isn’t. A faction can be formed to elect a model sheriff or mayor. One’s that are known to put the people’s interest as their highest priority. It’s not all one way. However, if a faction sole interest is gaining or preserving power then here is what happens. Suppose you live on one street and there is a street right next to yours. Both are in dire need of repair. You are a fine citizen of your city, you help with needed causes and so do your neighbors. But there is not enough money to repair both. You wonder what is going to happen. You wake up one morning with the sound of repair trucks working the road,you look out your window and see, yes they are repairing the street but it is the one next to yours. You street will remain in needed repair for years. What happened? You have been a victim of faction “favors” because over time you learn that most of the people on the other street voted for those in power. Factions are a definite threat to our Republic. Factions however, will continue to exist. There will always be the good, the bad, and the ugly factional positioning in any election. Be aware, be confident, never give up, never give in and always vote your conscience and resist being told who to vote for! Stand up as an Independent and a knowledgeable voter the founders intended you to be!

Factions are a reality of politics, as you have pointed out. I would not entirely with your statement that factions are a define threat to our Republic. In general, I agree with the intent of this statement, but the threat is not the divisions in civic leadership. Rather, it is the ideological or philosophical influences most widely accepted in our society. Factions have existed within every society, from the tribal, to the superstate. In the case of our present day democracy, it is the people, the majority, who decide the persons in leadership. But if they choose between one statist over another, they will only wind up with another statist. If your vote goes for the candidate(s) that will fix your street, the guy on the other street has equal justification for outrage. Rather than entangle this message with alternatives to democracy, I believe there are other ways to vote, such as with one's wallet or one's feet. If Americans were to embrace a more laissez faire political system, a more just system of public appropriation and expenditure might emerge. While this would certainly be a hard sell in these times, advocacy of individualism, capitalism, reason, and Objectivism would be the best way to begin the long journey of reaching the desired goal of a more just social order.

The high school me was a confused Christian, so other than telling myself to read Ayn Rand, my advice would be: 1. Take life seriously. 2. Pay attention to your thoughts. 3. Question what you're doing. 4. Study everything. 5. Talk to everyone. 6. Listen to people. 7. Write something every day. 8. Learn to dance. 9. Learn to draw. 10. Don't smoke weed. That pretty much covers it. I kept it simple and direct so my stupid young brain wouldn't misinterpret anything.

In my teens, I put on a know-it-all front, but in fact I didn't verify much of anything at all for myself. This carried on until I found this forum, with its many exemplar users who didn't take any answer without some solid reasoning behind it, and a painful process of de-rationalization began after my sad mental habits just couldn't stand up any longer. The habits were deep, though, and for a while it seemed like I didn't really know anything about anything, because I realized I had really verified almost nothing. I'd thought it was good general advice, not just for younger me, but maybe I wasn't so typical and this is very obvious to most people from the beginning. Growing up, I did not focus primarily on my own desires, instead focusing first (or only) on what I "should" do. Then, for a long time I treated people poorly, generally. Maybe the first was due to religion and the second was a personal backlash, but I'm not a psychologist. The way I summed up this advice applies more in my 20s, since I wouldn't have heard or understood any version of it when the issues were at their worst. I see versions of these two problems in a lot of people now - confusion about why life isn't working out, when surface investigation reveals motives that don't start from within; confusion as to why things aren't working out, and then big surprise they have no consideration at all about the other person's perspective or objectives.