Op Ed: The Road to Prodition

We are a social species. We are interdependent; "no man is an island," "together we stand, divided we fall," etc. We need unity in a society to do our best, and unity is something that requires effort, an effort that is not being demonstrated today. Democrat versus republican, improvement versus comfort, revolution versus reaction, and most other dualities in politics boil down to progress versus tradition; be happy with what we have, or try to make something better? In every duality there is actually a tri-ality, a middle area, which takes the qualities of both extremes into itself to create a spectrum of new qualities.

Prodition is the word I use to describe the ability to both observe what tradition and history have said about the world (and all its complexities) and to apply these observations to present contexts logically and without bias. In short prodition is what is required to uncover tri-ality. Prodition doesn't use traditional beliefs to filter or reject information blindly; it instead uses tradition as a tool for better understanding of and progression through present and future contexts. It refrains from lending itself to action before contemplation, so prodition will not lead to sudden revolution; it will lead to sudden revelation.

Using prodition will inevitably lead to good decision-making, since biases are dropped, empathy is employed, and logic is stressed. More options would be available, more "shades of gray." The ability to identify shades of gray is a quality that is found in most every successful and/or influential person that has ever lived, from philosophers to military strategists to public speakers to mentors to nearly anyone deemed by others as "smart" in their respective spheres. Their words provide "revelations."

A reduction of prodition is also a reduction in that "grayscale," leading to a black and white world, offering only either/or choices. The health care dispute is a good example; traditionalists who value money and personal interests above all else are either unable or unwilling to see the huge benefit for the lower half of America's class system, who have serious disadvantages under our current system, like life-crushing debt, for one. Health shouldn't be a commodity that is bought and sold; doctors should not be financially dependent on other people's ailments, and they certainly shouldn't directly profit from them. Progressives are no better though. They are currently trying to literally shove a new system (which is highly questionable) down America's throat by putting a "life tax" on allegedly free people, in a totalitarian-esque manner; that is completely ignorant of basic American values, democracy and freedom. Both sides fail. They are actually limiting, and even destructive, to the overall development and "perfection" of health care.

Perdition is associated with destruction, ruin, bias, resentment, closed-mindedness and ignorance; it can be seen as the complete dedication to one idea (inactive prodition) or the lack of any dedication to any idea (passive prodition). Prodition finds the tri-ality by seeking information, interpreting it and acting on it, all in a logical manner. It takes more effort, by far, but that's why I called it active; it requires activity. Prodition is the activity, the effort towards unity.

The road to unity is entwined with prodition; it's mysterious and goes by many names. It's like Estero Boulevard, Formerly Koreshan Boulevard; a road can be labeled with more than one name simultaneously, even if it has been officially renamed for four years and the locals get used to hearing both names. I guess it's more like when a road magically changes its name even though you didn't change roads, like Treeline/Ben Hill or Three Oaks/Imperial. No! It's another tri-ality! It's a combination of both of those, like the mind-melting Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress/Gladiolous anomaly. Yeah, prodition and unity are like that.