The Sweet Spot: Where Left and Right Can Rally Together

TL/DR

• A tennis racket has a "sweet spot," the best place to hit the ball.
• The racket also has a "dead zone" that results in poorly hit balls.
• Different types of governments are identified as either in the "sweet spot" or "dead zone". 
• Both U.S. parties are in the "sweet spot".
• Like a married couple who must work together for the greater good.
• Trump may be creeping away to the "dead zone", but we still have many institutions to check his power (not the main point of this post, but worth acknowledging).

The Metaphor

If you have ever played racquet sports (or Pickleball), you should be familiar with "the sweet spot": the area in the center of the hitting surface that results in a harmonious, controlled, powerful hit of the ball. 

You should also be familiar with the "Dead Zone," or area outside the sweet spot, which results in a jarring vibration and the ball going off into undesirable places.

Government Sweet Spot

What would be the sweet spot for governments?

• Human rights and dignity
• Freedom of speech and association
• Free and fair elections
• Checks and balances on power
• Opportunity to provide for oneself (the "pursuit of happiness").

Many forms of governments provide this today:

• Liberal Democracy (Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Japan)
• Parliamentary Democracy (UK, Norway, Netherlands, India, Australia)
• Presidential Democracy (U.S., South Korea)
• Constitutional Monarchy (Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Thailand)
• Federal Republic (U.S., Switzerland, Germany, Mexico)
• Social Democracy (Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark)

You can find criticisms of these countries, but the people living there generally live well. 

Government Dead Zone

In the Dead Zone, there are no checks and balances; no meaningful elections; suppressed media and civil society; persecution of minorities and dissenters; and laws serve power, not justice.

Example forms of government:

• Totalitarianism
• The state seeks to control every aspect of public and private life
• Examples: North Korea
• Authoritarianism
• Power is held by a single ruler or a small elite, not constitutionally responsible to the public.
• Examples: Russia, Saudi Arabia, China
• Military Dictatorships
• The military controls the government, often through a coup.
• Examples: Myanmar, Egypt
• Theocracies
• Religious leaders or laws dominate governance
• Examples: Iran, Afghanistan
• Fascism
• Uses fear, force, and blind loyalty.
• Examples: Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Franco's Spain

Democrats and Republicans

What about the Left and Right in the United States? Both are constrained by our Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights and checks and balances between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Both support freedom. Both support free and fair elections.

Neither party is putting us at risk of becoming North Korea, Russia, Iran, or Nazi Germany. It may "feel" like there is a threat of bad things happening, but people have been warning about the dire consequences of the current government for decades. Yet somehow, the U.S. has remained in the sweet spot.

How can you tell if a country is in the sweet spot? More people try to get into it than try to leave it.

I appreciate anyone willing to enter public service. It's a hard job—a really hard job...a nearly impossible job. And we humans aren't as clever as we'd like to think we are. We constantly make mistakes. We build ridiculous weapons - and then we use them. We invade and intervene when we shouldn't. We don't do things when we should.

I think of Democrats and Republicans like a married couple. One spouse decides to discipline the kids a certain way. The other spouse thinks, "Oh, okay, we're doing it that way? I'm onboard." Then they figure out how to make it work. What a married couple should never do is:

• Criticize their partner for the exact same behavior that they do.
• Undermine anything their partner is trying to do in the spirit of helping the family.
• Scare the children with exaggerated criticism about their partner.
• Behave recklessly (out of control spending or other behavior).

What happens when partners don't work together? 

Trump

To be more intellectually honest, I had to add this section. I researched how Trump may or may not be fascist. Here are the findings:

✅ Fascist-Like Traits Seen in Trumpism:

• Cult of personality – Loyalty to the leader above party, law, or institutions.

• Attacks on democratic institutions – Undermining trust in elections, courts, and the press (there are examples of him both complying and not complying with court decisions)

• Use of propaganda – Repetition of false claims as political tools (e.g. the "stolen election")

• Scapegoating minorities and immigrants – A hallmark of fascist movements

• Violent or authoritarian rhetoric – Praising dictators, calling for retribution against opponents

• Incitement or tolerance of political violence – Most notably, the events of January 6

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❌ Why Some Say It's Not Technically Fascism:

• No one-party state – The U.S. still has competitive elections and multiple parties  (e.g. Senator Cory Booker wasn't thrown in jail for his record 24-hour filibuster. Try that in any of the Dead Zone countries). 

• Independent institutions remain – Courts, press, and some law enforcement have pushed back.

• No centralized control of the economy or media

• Fascism is a fully realized system, not just a style of politics