"Not all of us think the same. Heck, not even the conservatives think alike on some issues. We need to get over the fact that when some feel different, they are not the enemy."
Well I have learned my lesson. Not another peep about Real ID. Sheesh! There are some short fuses out there on this issue! But here is the thing (and then I will get into this afternoon's musings) - the average person in this state does not give a tinker's dam about state's rights. Or have no understanding of the 10th Amendment. What? And why? 1) They were never taught civics in our government schools and 2) Like it or not, Minnesota is still a "blue" state. Not quite as blue as a few years ago, but still blue.
Now to my musings. In 2017, I have made it my goal to focus on two things. Thing one is to help our elected representatives succeed. In other words, help them stay on task. When they stray, help them find the path back. The second is more daunting. I want to spend less time with "like minded individuals", and more time with folks who are center and left of center. Why? Because right now we are like the Tower of Babel. Our language has become so diffuse that nobody understands anyone else. To win the day, we need to fix that. We need to teach others "our language".
The Democrats got whipped this past election. Not only nationwide, but also in Minnesota. Right now the Republicans hold a razor thin majority in the State House and Senate. But the Governor is still a donkey. Fixing that will come in about two years.
So here is my beef. We are better mannered than the other side is. It irks me to no end when I hear our side say, "we won, you lost." We are better than that. And that is zero sum politics, and I hate it. To win the day, is to show the other side there is a better way. And showing them as a friend, not as an enemy combatant.
Not all of us think the same. Heck, not even the conservatives think alike on some issues. We need to get over the fact when some feel different, they are the enemy. They are not. When we think different, is where we get into the free discussions of ideas. But I am no fool. I know that most on the other side whom I will talk to will not initially change their minds. And that is okay. The point is this - we not to be insular. We are to be ambassadors. Ambassadors to our way of thinking. We know the pros and cons of the discussion well enough so we can convince just about anyone. Our way is the right way.
In any event, onward and upward. Tomorrow starts this weekend. The snowflakes will have their marches. And still the inaugural ball will go on. But then we move on. In order to heal the divisions that Obama has left us, we need healers. We need people to reach out to the other side. Not to compromise, but to convince.
Why? Because at the end of the day, we are all wearing the same uniform. We may think different on some things, but we are after all basically the same. We are Americans.
"To win the day, we need to fix that. We need to teach others 'our language'." Not that simple.
ReplyDelete"Our" language is (hopefully) based on logic, facts, and reason (i.e. dialectic) with a dash of rhetoric (i.e. how something is said) to get the point across persuasively. "Their" language is just the opposite...mostly rhetoric and emotion with enough (generally misleading) facts and logic to sound logical. Are you going to teach others how to speak dialectically when that is not how they speak and write, often successfully? No.
"To win the day, is to show the other side there is a better way. And showing them as a friend, not as an enemy combatant." Not that simple.
To the "hard core" of the other side we are the enemy, we are uncaring and evil. Unfortunately, they make the news with their arguments (because that sells papers, and because the mass media agrees with them) so their arguments are displayed prominently and our counter arguments are buried far below (if at all or accurately). That "hard core" needs to be discredited and their flaws made obvious to show the more reasonable people on the left that they are being mislead by a "hard core" radical left that doesn't share their values. One technique that was effective this election season was trolling, i.e. making statements that trigger even more radical outbursts from that hard core left that showed how "out there" their thoughts really are. Those "more reasonable people" can be talked to as a friend but you have to discredit/reveal the hard core first in their minds because that is who those "reasonable people" see and hear on the news.
If you don't discredit that hard core in newsworthy ways (e.g. generating over-the-top outbursts) you'll just be steamrolled over by the media because boring logic and reason and "let's be friends" doesn't sell papers.