14. August 2020
Today’s Observation:
I see a lot of “I hate all Democrats” and “All Republicans are deplorable” on social media. Political parties are simply labels – the values and platforms of each have shifted dramatically over the years – party names have been static for over a century, but their platforms have pretty much swapped. The beauty of a 2-party system, regardless of platform, is that each takes a turn at shaping this republic. Civic responsibility in a democracy demands more maturity than pedestal politics, if our goal to remain united is more important than “being right.” Too many of us are lifting up our own parties like sacred cows while denigrating everyone else, not taking the time to acknowledge or understand the reasons behind the extremist growth happening in each party; not taking the time to examine self-serving actions of high-ranking party members. That’s too easy. Calling one party stupid or racist is too simple and broad. More bluntly, it’s a cop-out – the kind of cheap, unsubstantiated digs we allow on network TV are exactly the language we discipline our children against (“don’t call your brother stupid” or “you can call out her behavior, but you cannot call her a jerk” or “you can’t label your friend a liar just because you’re mad or your feelings are hurt”). Ultimately, this continued behavior will do nothing but continue to divide our country, regardless of the November election outcome. As we move closer to our next Presidential election, let’s remember that voting is not about blind loyalty – this. isn’t. football. Better yet, let’s take that football analogy one step further:In this election, imagine we are not individually rooting for our own teams (Go Bruins! Go Rams!!) but rather we’re rooting for the continued existence of the game of football. Imagine that the teams don’t matter as much as NFL leadership. Imagine that we can respect & applaud ballers on every team (in every party) even as we rebuke the ones who behave poorly on & off the field, both on our favorite team and off. Read. Challenge. Respect. Vote.
Musings of a Mom 