I d like to suggest that a big part of the problem with politics is with positions. Rather, to be more exact, our politics is in such a mess because it is based on taking positions. I know this may sound odd or trivial or abstract to many of you. But bear with me for a minute. There s a door here we could walk through to a better world.
Politicians are like soldiers and debaters.
Soldiers and debaters take positions. You don t move. And then you win or lose. Political platforms are collections of a party s or candidate s positions on the issues. Platforms are what candidates stand on as they lob cannonballs, soundbites and spin-doctoring at each other.