Unhappy with direction? Total reversal seldom works

If there is a problem in society, how do we “fix” it? Do we use our collective wisdom, the government, social revolution?

There is certainly no single “correct path,” but there is one method of embracing change that we too often embrace to our detriment. I call it The 180-Degree Rule.

Its simplicity is appealing – “Let’s do the opposite of what we’ve been doing!”

After all, if the way we’re headed is “bad” then the opposite direction must be “good,” right?

This thinking has been applied to business, politics and education, to name a few. In psychology, doing things one way or just the opposite way is termed “black and white thinking.”

Here’s the problem: The 180 Rule doesn’t work! We just end up swapping one set of problems for others. Look at an example from governance. “Majority rule” has been around for a very long time, but we’ve discovered a problem.

Too often, 51 percent of the people get their way and 49 percent don’t. Aspects of the minority’s focus or solution might have merit, but the majority dismisses it entirely.

Consider the current water grab being undertaken by the state. For years, farmers and cities were encouraged to put the water flowing from our mountains to “beneficial use” by building dams then sharing the water to grow things. Now, the state’s “fish-first” policy is in vogue. While it is supposed to make fish happy (presumably happy fish make more fish), it will undoubtedly make farmers unhappy since they’ll be forced to take thousands of acres out of production. It stands to reason unhappy farmers will be making fewer farmers.

If this situation doesn’t beg for a compromise, I don’t know what does.

Frequently, the 180 Rule is employed to “right a wrong.” Society too often ignored minority rights in our past. Our attempts to rectify those wrongs has now become identity politics, and every group – from obstructionist Republicans, to transgender individuals, to animal activists, to those decrying micro-aggressions on college campuses – feel entitled to special consideration.

What to do? Most of the time, there’s a middle ground. So why not follow “The 90-Degree Rule”? A 90-Degree Rule looks for compromise as the best course, arriving somewhere in the middle.

This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Unhappy with direction? Total reversal seldom works."