Model Thoughts

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In my Model Thinking class last week, we looked at Prisoners' Dilemna.

You know the one -- two crooks in two rooms, unable to communicate with each other.

If they both hold their tongues, they'll both get a light sentence.  If one weasels on the other, the weasel gets immunity and goes free, while the compatriot he betrayed gets the full sentence.  If they both talk, they both get a heavier sentence.

As a pair, they're best off if they both keep mum.  As individuals, they're better off to squeal............ 

This is applicable to an awful lot of situations where we have to choose between cooperating, and snatching as much as we can for ourselves, nevermind the hurt we cause in the process.

The thing that was said over and over as we learned about all of this in class is "As a group, we are better off if we cooperate."

As a town, as a state, as a nation, as a planet, we are all better off if we cooperate.

If each of us snatches whatever we can grab, and nevermind the hurt to our neighbors, near and far, or to our planet, we are all worse off.

It's a short-run gain for an individual to take whatever he can get, and a long-run loss for his children, his grandchildren (and everyone else's children and grandchildren, too).

We are all better off if we have decent roads to drive on.  We are all better off if we have good public transportation.  We are all better off if we have good libraries.  We are all better off if we have good schools.

We are all better off if EVERYBODY's child gets a good education and gets a good job.......

If we all will make an effort to lift our faces to the sunshine, and then to think of the good for everyone, rather than just a few, we can do our bit to make the world a better place when we walk into that voting booth. 

We are all better off if we cooperate.

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