The 80/20 Rule

Not to point out the obvious, but our country is seriously divided. Everything is right or left, red or blue and there doesn't seem to be any indication of that divide closing in the near future. Unfortunately, where does that leave most people who don't sit on the far edge of the political pendulum? 

That voice in the middle continues to become disenfranchised and seemingly forced to move to the far edge of one side or another. The group somewhere in between of both extremes is what I would describe as the 80%. Their voices and opinions aren't being heard, instead they are drowned out by the overly vocal extremes on both sides, who tend to shout the loudest. Those represent the 20%. 

If you aren't familiar with the 80/20 rule or the Pareto principle, let me explain. The Pareto principle states that "for many outcomes roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes (the “vital few”)." Mathematically, the 80/20 rule is roughly described by a power law distribution (also known as a Pareto distribution) for a particular set of parameters, and many natural phenomena have been shown to exhibit such a distribution. It is an adage of business management that "80% of sales come from 20% of clients".

These principles have been shown to apply to a variety of aspects in our everyday life. Example: 80% of crimes are committed by 20% of the criminals. 80% of health care resources are used up by 20% of patients. And in this case, I would venture to say, 80% of the political outcomes are controlled by the vocal 20% of extremes. 

A similar mathematical equation is the Internet's 1% rule, stating that 1% of internet users are responsible for the content, while the other 99% are there to just consume it or lurk. 

You're probably wondering "why do I care?" The answer is simple. If we want to affect change in our communities, it's the middle 80% that is key. These are the people who are still leveled headed enough to have a conversation, to listen to logic and who are feeling left out. These are probably your neighbors, the person next to you at church, your mechanic or doctor. Normal, hard working folks who may not feel like the have a voice or that they are being heard. 

If that 80% can come together and unite on some common, absolute truths we may have the opportunity to Repo the Republic. Start the conversation today!