Sen. Mark Warner makes the case for CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that we need a new Social Contract in America

Doerr-Hosier Center at the Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado — Wikimedia | Bluerasberry

This Sunday on the Global Public Square segment of his weekly broadcast at 10 am and 2 pm, Fareed Zakaria met with Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, vice-chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Intelligence Committee, at the annual gathering at The Aspen Institute, “a nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas.”

Sen. Warner made some very interesting observations from his perspective as a pro-business, pro-growth former CEO/COO of a major enterprise that the ‘modern capitalism’ focus on “short-term quarterly earnings as opposed to long-term (more stabilizing) value creation is not working for enough people.”

Sen. Warner is absolutely right that we need a new Social Contract that is characterized by fair play.

The majority of Americans are completely confused about which party stands for what. Studies have show that most believe, for example, that Democrats are more Conservative (probably because they tend to be more reasonable (while still taking into consideration both compassion and reason in forming judgments; and far less likely to try to make decisions based on emotions alone — especially those relating to fear or loathing — rather than through balanced critical thinking).

While it’s valuable to be moved by one’s emotions, it’s easy to fail to look carefully at something from various angles — both objective and subjective — and by doing some research and due diligence to see what the facts actually are. By considering only one angle or the other, one can be so very easily manipulated!

The worst of the current situation seems to be the ‘alternative facts’ element and what seems to be a mixup on the part of the Sanders/Trump angry voters this year, especially in their mis-identifying poor and working-class “elites” (those who spend their time teaching, studying and researching during the day and listening to classical music and watching educational television and going outdoors in the evenings and weekends, for example) who make good, sound decisions in their work every day in the general public-interest — and to differentiate those who may be somewhat “elite” in terms of their having academically-oriented interests even in their leisure time, as distinct from those rich “elites” who are actually living on the interest from investments, either from their own capital or inheriting wealth, and then letting their money work for them (and frequently working against the poor and working class itself through the less fortunate affects on them in the form of ‘compound interest,’ in penalties for late payments and very high prices and especially high interest rates — including the essential must-haves for most individuals and families like rent or mortgage, fuel for home and transport, food, clothing and medical costs.

The folks who can afford to retire at an early age are perceived as not doing any work at all — although this may or may not be the case — since they may have to act as their own hedge-fund managers and devote a good amount of attention to the cost and benefits of various investments, and keeping a close eye on trading statistics and market averages and the like, rather than being on permanent vacation mode the rest of their easy-going lives, who seem to be making their decisions day to day by thinking only of themselves, their immediate families, and what’s good for their friends and associates.

These same individuals may sometimes fail to acknowledge that there is a lot to life that is somewhat ‘random,’ though, as a matter of luck, rather than of knowledge or skill, and ‘there but for fortune go you or I,’ One serious illness can mean devastation for a family, even a very hardworking family.

There is far less ‘fraud and abuse’ than is made much of, as a kind of ‘fig leaf’ masking a cold-hearted indifference. In America, we don’t think of those with illness or disabilities as Losers! The idea that the Trump/Sanders voters have mixed this up is downright dangerous for us all; but certainly not more so than the ‘alternative facts’ element. That will be our un-doing, unless we can grapple with this especially pernicious turn of events.

The Aspen Institute is a nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas. From the stimulation of the Ideas Festival, to the projects conceived at the Resnick Aspen Action Forum, to deep policy studies done at our roundtables, the Aspen Institute brings together people with different outlooks to search for common ground and make the world a better place.

To learn more about the Aspen Institute visit https://www.aspeninstitute.org

Moving toward a more Creative Response to Conflict, Chaos, and Needless Misunderstanding gingermccarthy.com | and https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginger-mccarthy |

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade