Watched a TED talk on finding agreement amidst controversy.
Specifically two conservatives – one a TV host and pundit, the other a New York columnist of
reknown – talked of the current divide in American politics. They decried the
divide. They even dissected it enough to show the pot holes among their
thinking. Illuminating to me. I had come to believe conservatives were
incapable of honest analysis and discourse. Of course that was an unfair
assumption on my part, but so are their assumptions of me.
I’m no libtard. I can’t be; I don’t know the definition of
the term!
What I found interesting is the many points of agreement
possible among us. Thinking differently and focusing on divergent objectives, we
tend to assume we have little or nothing to agree on. Such is not the case.
First off, we are all Americans. Second, we live in a
society of vast freedom and opportunity. Third, our people are accepting and
caring in the main. Those three elements I believe are common. We don’t all
demonstrate them equally but close to the surface of even the worst curmudgeon
are these three characteristics.
If a firestorm hit your town, or an earthquake or tornado,
watch how complete strangers respond to your needs. They come out of the
woodwork to assist, to share, to donate, to work with, to do anything to lessen
your pain and horror. In blizzards strangers with shovels and snow blowers roam
neighborhood streets looking for people to help. I’ve watched this happen many
times.
The news – both TV and newspapers – quickly report such good
news items.
It is a mark of our civility. It is natural. All we have to
do is look for it and then work with it. The good is present. Just not always
in full view.
I’ve often wondered why political discourse is so contrary.
It appears to be about personality not substance. Or the how things should be
done, not the objective. Or maybe the why is in debate, again, not the
objective.
I know a natural detour is deafness. You know what I mean: I
hurt and you do not acknowledge that; you hurt and I turn a deaf ear to your
complaints. This deafness to one another becomes the bone of contention.
Vast numbers of Americans lost their jobs. Even larger
numbers of Americans came to feel they were not valued or wanted. And this in
their own nation where they ought to feel at home. These folks did not
understand what had happened to them, just that their underpinnings
disappeared. And seemingly no one cared.
But people do care. About you and the why and how you came
to find yourself in your particular pickle. The same for me. I’m in a pickle. I
raised my voice and few heard me. I know what it is like. If you’d like to
compare notes some day, just let me know!
The important thing in all of this is just this: we care
what happens to each other and want the best for our country. We do not always
talk of the same matters at the same time and this causes confusion. At those
moments we may not think you are hearing me or I, you. We do hear but it doesn’t
register clearly the what, why or how. All we need to do is give each other
some space and then refocus to listen to each other, hear each other, and think
upon our messages.
Do not load those messages with projections of your own, or
assumptions of bias. Just listen to the message and understand it as best you
can. Discuss it with them. Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Compute and
assimilate their messages into your own data base. Let it sink in.
Giving each other the space, time and consideration to
communicate clearly, we will most likely find many points on which we agree.
Now that’s a great starting point.
We are going to do this locally in our Friday evening Nexus
coffeehouse program at Trinity Lutheran Church
in Warrenville , Illinois
Common objectives are likely to appear. We fervently hope
so. Upon such grounds much agreement and opportunity flourish. Perhaps we will
discover them?
April 19, 2017
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