Basic Psychology

There's another lesson at play during this presidential campaign, and it's an important one. In high school, I learned about the different options for changing a person's behavior. There's punishment which is pretty self explanatory, negative reinforcement, and positive reinforcement. The most effective of these for long-term behavior change is positive reinforcement.

Obama has been talking about hope and change to make the country better. He's been pointing to areas where he disagrees with his opposition, but has not made negative assertions about them personally. In fact, he's made a point of complimenting his opponents during debates. His speeches are so popular because they predict a brighter future for a large segment of Americans during his term as president. If he can make good on any of his plans, there would be nothing more reinforcing than positive success.

On the other hand, if he gets us behind him, then wilts under the international spotlight, it could be relatively devastating. It's not unprecedented. I feel like Republicans can forge ahead, even in a shit storm like the one the current administration has created. Democrats don't seem to be as resilient. Audacity, indeed.

Then there's McCain. He's a proponent of the war and keeping us there "so we don't have to fight terrorists here." Sure, he's talking about a measured withdrawal, but if things change, he could also escalate the troop levels. Also, he voted for torture. His speeches are popular because they make us feel like we're protected from terror if we don't change things too radically. That's classic negative reinforcement.

Hell, the DHS is negative reinforcement. The trick here is - if nothing bad happens, it's justified. If something does happen, that's why all that stuff was put in place. So, it's easier (and politically safer) to take the negative route. It's much more risky to offer a better future, even if it's what most people want.

I'm an idealist and I'd rather focus on how to make things better than how to avoid bad things. The latter seems to be an endless, fruitless treadmill.