330 million people in our nation. Each with their own idea of the world and how it should be. Focus closer to home, and they have other ideas. About food, house, family, neighbors, clothes and transportation. Music, too, and visual arts, performing arts and a host of other topics spring to mind. They encounter life and think about it; conscious or not.
Share a meal with any of them and they will talk about any of these topics. They listen to what others say, too, and adapt somewhat to this information. They test their own ideas and wonder about how they are different and why; or why they are so similar. Synchronicity of thoughts is comforting. Discordant ideas give pause.
And so it goes. Social media carries an endless host of variations on the same topics. News media and commentary publications go into more depth. Sides to issues become evident. Arguments begin; not all are friendly or civil. But little by little the ‘conversations’ subject our brains to thinking and adjusting what we believe.
The variations are endless. Agreement among all is impossible. Right and wrong are not as stark as we often believe.
In politics this same process is at work. And it should be. Only in authoritarian societies is political discussion assumed to be a one-way street. Not so in a democracy. Democracies are messy by nature. It is the differences at work that lead to workable consensus. Not total agreement, but general agreement on one topic or portion of a topic at a time. Later, much later, the direction of the consensus takes on more shape. Eventually a policy is developed and agreed to; now for the implementation! Even then the issues comprising the agreement will undergo much more discussion. Messy.
With this background, why would anyone think Americans should be governed by one party or the other? Neither the republicans or democrats have all the answers. More likely a blend is needed to arrive at consensus. Enough consensus to get work done.
Just because I think most republicans are sounding inauthentic, manipulative and nonsensical, doesn’t mean I think they have no good arguments. Same for democrats. No one has all the answers. Or policies.
The messiness of our heritage is what built our nation. Diverse peoples. Diverse thoughts. Diverse decisions. Complicated consensus and compromise. In the end (which is momentary bit by bit!), we learn more and accomplish more through the diversity.
Celebrate this fact. Value it deeply. It is the heart and soul of our national identity. Just because some are uncomfortable doesn’t mean we should make all uncomfortable. White, brown or black, we are all the same. America knows this better than most nations. It is the core of our strength.
It is why our form of government is of, by and for the people.
I embrace this and our differences. Do you?
February 25, 2019
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