Accepting the Complexity of our Problems to Grow as a Society

or, start weeding before we mow

If your lawn has a bunch of weeds and you mow it, your lawn will look great for a day or two. But you’re spreading more seeds when you do that and the weeds will grow faster than the grass.

Your yard will get worse and worse, but every time you mow it looks great for a day or two.

Eventually you’ll be mowing every other day and the lawn will just be patches of weeds with some grass in between. It’ll be too rough to walk on without shoes and you’ll stop watering it or fertilizing it and just wait for the day that the sun dries it all out.

We have what appears to be deep divisions in America. But at the end of the day, I think there’s a lot more overlap than we believe.

When I try have discussions with folks to the right or left of me, it’s not that we typically disagree about what is happening, but that we disagree about the scope and complexity.

They see a simple problem and propose an immediate solution.

• Crime rates are up? Throw money at the police and let them be more violent
• Illegal immigration is up? Build a wall and shoot anyone who tries to cross it
• Someone says something we…