There was just a presidential election where I am. Fortunately, the candidate who won seems to genuinely work on behalf of the less fortunate, nature, and society as a whole.
When I vote, I vote on behalf of the less privileged and those without a voice in our current political system. I vote for the less privileged in our society. And I vote for non-human species and future generations since they themselves don’t have a vote.
I don’t just do it for their sake. I do it for all of us since I know that a society where as many as possible live a good life is better for all of us. It creates a more safe, vibrant, and healthy society. And I do it because I know that our health and well-being, collectively and individually, is dependent on the health and well-being of our ecosystems and the planet as a whole.
I am very happy for the collective to use some of “my” money (which comes from society and nature anyway) to create a society that works better for everyone since I want to live in that kind of society.
Of course, I cannot know for certain what’s best for all of us. Sometimes, we do something with the best intentions and it goes south. If we get things to where we think they should be, life will take it in another direction. What we see as “best” depends on who and where we are and what we value. And we never know the bigger picture. But I do my best as we all do.
Note: I notice something worth examining in myself on this topic.
I sometimes see the less privileged as voting against their own interests, perhaps because of identity. (They agree with certain values, and are hurt by the actual policies.) And I also know I cannot know what’s best for them. I cannot really know in a conventional sense, and I certainly cannot know in terms of the bigger picture. And that doesn’t prevent me from doing for what I consider best for the ones who needs it the most, society as a whole, non-human species, and future generations.
I also know that when I vote on behalf of the less privileged and those without a voice, some will see me as voting against my own (narrow) self interest. In that sense, I do what I see in them.
And as someone relatively privileged, I don’t see it as the job of politicians to protect my privilege at the cost of those who have far less.
Note 2: This touches on the old win-win vs win-lose mindset difference. Do you see others well-being as benefiting you and all of us? Then you likely wish a better society for everyone. Do you assume that you will lose if others win? Then you’ll likely try to make them lose first so you can win. The win-lose group tends to see the win-win mindset as naive, and the win-win group tends to see the win-lose mindset as cruel and short-sighted.
DRAFT
A society that works better for everyone is better for everyone.
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VOTING ON BEHALF OF THE NON-HUMAN SPECIES
There was just a presidential election where I am, and the one elected has the interest of the less-privileged at heart.
For me, when I vote, I vote on behalf of the less privileged. (Who often vote against their own interests based on identity.) And I especially vote on behalf of non-human species and future generations.
When I vote, I vote on behalf of the less privileged and those without a voice in our current political system. I vote for the less privileged in our society. (Who apparently often vote against their own interest, perhaps because of identity.) And I vote for non-human species and future generations.
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When I vote, I vote on behalf of the less privileged. (Who often appear to vote against their own interests, perhaps because of identity.) And I especially vote on behalf of those without a voice – non-human species and future generations.
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(Some of whom appear to vote against their own interests, perhaps because of identity, although that’s a slightly arrogant I-know-better-than-you-what-you-need view.)
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I sometimes see the less privileged as voting against their own interests, perhaps because of identity. (They agree with certain values, and are hurt by the actual policies.) And I also know I cannot know what’s best for them. It’s a certain arrogance to assume I know better than them that I know what’s best for them. I cannot really know in a cannot sense, and I certainly cannot know in the bigger picture. And that doesn’t prevent me from doing my best.