The problem is the simple breakdown of civil discourse in this country. ..and both ends of the political spectrum are guilty of it. Somewhere along the way the greatest signifier of one’s politics became measuring just how much you can hate the other side, and just how mortally you can wound them from your self-declared moral high ground. I firmly believe at the end of the day, we all want the same things, that are clearly, simply, beautifully expressed in the blueprints of this nation: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—and by extension, and better tomorrow for generations to come. It’s just that simple. Now, how each of us chooses to get there filters us into our respective ideologies and parties… and that’s politics. What needs happen is a focus on those shared, simple ideas and a REAL commitment to reaching across the damn isle and finding, if not common ground, at the very least cooperative/compromising ground—and conversely: self-righteous indignation as a political ideology must be shouted down, and voted out at every turn. I offer:
Are pro-choice advocates REALLY Godless murderers?
Are pro-life advocates REALLY misogynist fascists?
If we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is generally NO to both, but you’d never know by the likes of FOX News or Mother Jones. Unfortunately, in this country, often the stupidest voices are the loudest, and what makes for good sound bites passes for sound politics.
So, the short term answer is sweep away the Coulters and the Sharptons, and bring back the thinkers, and the genuine statesmen, and if those we’ve elected can’t be bothered to rethink the political profile of this nation, we should keep searching until we find some that can.
Folks, and I’m reaching out specifically to the Americans right now, this year when you go to the polls—regardless of where you sit on the political fence, look into your heart, be honest with yourself, and do the best thing.