Flatlanders

     What is a Flatlander?  A typical Flatlander is one who cannot see beyond their own personal horizon of experience to know how things work beyond their realm. Flatlanders have little useful knowledge or appreciation of how everything fits together to create a 'whole' society or functional economy. For one reason or another, there appears to be many flatlanders in our world.

     Flatlander politics are based upon the practice of organizing groups of flatlanders into little pens with fences high enough that those in one pen cannot see (or have no desire to see) from one pen into the next. These little groups are trained and reinforced to operate as groups within their little 'pen'.  The Flatlander politician then exists by tossing a few tidbits of fairness into each pen as they make their political rounds.  When problems arise, they quickly blame some other pen than the one they are feeding at that time.  This passes for leadership.

     The common bond of Flatlanders is a sermon of fear spouted by Flatlander Politicians, 'If you sail out of the Bay of Compassion, in the direction of fiscal responsibility across the ocean of public debt, your country and society will fall off the edge of the earth before your ship of state reaches the mythical realm of personal responsibility. Better to stay in your comfortable little Flatlander pen where I, the almighty politician, will take care of you.'

     Until our nation (and civilization) drops its flatlander fears and sets sail towards the mythical realm of personal responsibility on the other side of the civilized world, we will continue to live in a society and civilization dominated by flatlander political thought and its resulting fiscally and morally bankrupt society.