It saddens me to see the increasing divide in our country. One close friend and I are so different in how we orient to the world we stopped discussing politics and religion altogether. Yet we both want a better life for our children and a safe, peaceful, prosperous world for our grandchildren. We want the same things but see the way to achieve them differently. And that’s okay because it would be worrisome if there was only one absolute way for everyone to resolve their own challenges or solve the complex issues which plague our times.
I have Democratic and Republican friends; friends who carry guns and friends who find them abhorrent; friends who have fought in war, friends who marched against it, and some who did both; friends who have had abortions and friends who would never consider it. And that’s okay. I don't pick my friends for thinking like me. I pick them for their good hearts. Kind, loving, compassionate, giving, honorable, caring people can have differences with me anytime. And that’s okay.
But what’s not okay for me is the new normal where lies are packaged as truths, personal attacks and toxic tirades fill the day, and everyone with a social media account or a blog is a self-proclaimed expert, and anyone with an opinion a commentator.
What’s not okay for me is political ideology that devalues diversity of race, gender, religion, and nationality, that reduces individual rights and opportunities, bans books, diminishes education, abandons those in need, rewrites history, favors the rich, plays climate roulette, and disregards facts.
And what’s definitely not okay for me is encouraging violence, having laws that don’t apply to everyone, disregarding the plight of those who share the planet, and destroying democracy for future generations.
A few more months of posturing, positioning, and speculating and the question will have an answer. Voters will have voted, nasty ads will have subsided, and national news will be filled with something other than the latest political nuance, candidate slipup, or pundit pontification. So, as we approach the election, I have one wish: May good hearts prevail.
You can find more of my musings in the “Previous Work Archive: In the Scheme of Things ITSOTArchive (nanrussell.com); Winning at Working WWArchive (nanrussell.com)
